A Girl Called Destiny
by Creative-Insanity
Summary: His brides had failed him, his children were born dead, and there was no way to bring them to life. Unless… she carried in her blood a powerful secret. A path to true immortal life that proves that Fate can really deal out a wild card. Complete.
1. Blood Loss and Flying

Chapter 1: Blood loss and flying

AN: okay, this is the re-vamped (no pun intended) version of the first chapter. I still am not crazy about it, but it's better than it was. To old readers: welcome back. To new readers: glad you decided to give my story a try. Read and review!

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I woke near midnight, my pupils dilated in the darkness of my small room of the castle where I worked as a servant of the ruling lord of my village, deep in Romania. I slid out of bed and padded softly down the corridor towards the main hall.

Shafts of pale moonlight filtered through the large windows and cast dark shadows into the corners of the rooms. I glanced nervously over my shoulder. There was no one there, but something was subtly different in the castle tonight. I stopped and stood quite still, straining my ears for any hint of sound. All I could feel was a small breeze around my legs, so faint I could barely tell it was there.

But we never opened any of the windows.

My eyes snapped open and I whirled around in the direction of the breeze's source, my long hair whipping around my face (I made a mental note to cut it). I smacked into someone's chest. Backing up, I looked at the person I'd run into. He was tall and pale, nearly blending into the shadows with his black clothes and hair. He had the most…hypnotic gaze I'd ever seen in a man.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"A better question, my dear," he said almost cheerfully, "would be _what_ am I?" His voice carried a heavy Transylvanian accent

"What are you then?"

He smiled, revealing pointed teeth. "I, am a vampire. Count Vladislaus Dracula."

The speed of my pulse nearly doubled. I'd heard tales of such bloodsuckers from relatives west of us, but those monsters had never ventured this far to the east.

Until now that is.

Dracula took a step forward and I threw myself backwards, that motion impeded by the presence of a stone wall. So I stood there, watching my death come closer. Dracula spoke again.

"Your heart is beating so fast my dear." He smiled and began to clap his hands softly, slowly at first, but quickly speeding until it kept time with my racing heart. I wondered idly if this man was insane. However, I didn't want to be vampire fodder just yet.

"Why are you here?" I blurted out. "Why me? Surely there are easier targets." If I could just keep him talking, maybe I could escape. I began edging slowly to the side.

"Yes, I suppose there are," he said. "But you are…different somehow."

"Ooohhh no I'm not," I assured him. "I'm just a little normal servant in a normal castle by a normal village. See? Nothing remarkable there."

My remark had the opposite effect I intended it to. He laughed.

"I beg to differ. There is a song in your blood –"

"Isn't there one in everybody's?"

"No. And you're not being boring. You're not crying, pleading for your life, or trying to run." As he said that, I dashed to the side. However, I didn't get more that three feet when I crashed headlong into something. Someone, as it turned out. Dracula grabbed my upper arm to steady me.

"Or perhaps you are. Either way, I can't just drain you dry." I gulped at the mention of being food.

"Why?" I asked against my better judgement. Suddenly, those pointed teeth were at my throat, right above my jugular vein.

"Because," he whispered, "Then you would be dead. You won't be any good to me dead."

The fangs pierced my skin and I tried to keep from fainting while locked in the arms of a monster who was draining my life away. I couldn't see anything through the haze of pain, couldn't think, but I could _feel_ my blood leaving my body. After an eternity, he stopped.

I was dimly aware of the laboring, sluggish beating of my heart and of a liquid on my lips, seeping into my mouth, trickling down my throat. It was both warm and cold at the same time, like the life force of one who is already dead.

It was blood, vampire blood.

I feebly pushed myself away from Dracula and fell heavily to the floor.

"What…have you done?" I choked, clutching at my chest, which was burning.

"You will see soon enough my dear," he replied smoothly. Suddenly, a spasm of pain ripped through my body and I doubled over, coughing violently. The count looked slightly perturbed. I could tell something was wrong. Blood dripped from my mouth onto the floor, smoking where it hit the stone, as my body was wracked with convulsions.

Something was very wrong.

There was a ripping noise and I arched in response to the new pain lancing through my back, before lying still on the stone floor.

Dracula bent down and picked me up in his arms, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. I looked at him with round, wary eyes, not quite sure what to expect.

"Are you going to kill me now?" I whispered weakly. Dracula looked surprised at the question. Then his face softened some as he felt the steady, rhythmic beating of my heart.

"No. You are not destined for death. You are to have eternal _life_, by my side and that of my brides." He shifted into full vampiric form and I was hard pressed to conceal my nausea while looking upon that frightening visage. Satisfied that I was secure in his large talons, he flew out of a castle window towards his own home.


	2. What am I?

Chapter 2: What am I?

AN: Because Sinister-darkness was kind and gave me a review the first day I posted, I'm giving her this chapter as a thankyou. Reviews make me so happy. So does my birthday, which is in 1 week. Learner's Permit, here I come! (pedestrians beware)

Somewhere along the flight, I fainted, whether from the height or from fear, I didn't know. All I knew was that when I awoke, it was in an unfamiliar room of a strange castle. Groggily, I rose from the bed I'd been lying on and tested out my ability to walk. Something rustled and there was a feeling on my back like I'd grown an extra appendage and it was pressed against something.

I looked over my shoulder and nearly fainted again at the sight of a set of fully functional wings. Oh God. I looked around for a mirror, and found a small one hanging on the wall above a decorative table. I peered into its tarnished surface.

"Oh dear God." The girl peering back at me _was_ me, and yet, she wasn't. Her long hair was pure, untainted white, not mousy brown and her icy blue eyes were set under lightly colored thin eyebrows. Her, I mean my, mouth was slightly fuller, and my skin, which had gotten ruddy from too much outside work, was fair, with a hint of pink at the cheeks. I whirled away from the unsettling picture. There was something just _too _perfect about everything, something not quite real about it.

"Do you not like what you see?" Dracula appeared behind me. Had he been watching me all this time?

"I…I don't know my Lord." I kept my eyes lowered, not wanting to be snared by his gaze a second time.

"Is it too perfect? Too pure? One could say…ethereal?" I _did_ look up then, startled by his apparent reading of my thoughts.

"What happened? Do you know? Please tell me!" I begged, grabbing his arm in my desperation to know just _what_ had happened.

Dracula pulled me into the circle of his arms and stroked my cheek with a cold hand. I shivered at the contact, but he only drew me closer.

"I think I should tell you later my love. For now, you may wish to change into some less damaged clothes, no? You may explore the castle if you wish." He leaned down (I was kind of short and slightly built) and kissed me softly on the lips before walking to the door. He was about to leave when he turned and added, "If you want to get rid of those wings my dear, all you need to do is concentrate."

After he was gone, I focused hard on an image of myself without wings and to my extreme relief, they melted into my back. That accomplished, I looked around my (I guess) room for clothes. Dracula was right on that count; the wings had practically shredded the back of my nightgown. A blush colored my cheeks at the immodesty of it.

My eyes fell on a richly carved wardrobe and I opened it. It contained all manners of dresses, many far to elaborate for my comfort or liking, so I selected a sky blue one and slipped it on. It was relatively simple with a wide, square neckline, long tight sleeves, and an empire waist. My hair I left down merely because I wasn't comfortable wearing any ornaments in it. I had gotten along fine all my life without them, so why start now? Anyway, they were meant for high-born people. I shouldn't get above my station.

Wondering where this castle was I looked out the window, only to see snow-covered mountains. Seeing as Romania was covered with them, it didn't help any. Being thoroughly bored already, I left the sanctum of my room (little did I know) and wandered down the hallway, my bare feet treading softly on the cold stone.

I was trying to recall what the Count had told me what I assumed was last night. Something important. Some reason for my being here. I remember a comment about him and his brides…what was a vampire 'bride' anyway? Were they just what the name said? Or were they something else?

A low chuckle interrupted my musings. I looked up to see a redheaded woman dressed in pink-tinted white inspecting me closely. She laughed again when I nearly jumped out of my skin in surprise (and fright). She must be one of the brides.

"And what do we have here? Lost, are you? What is your name?" She smiled revealing pointed white teeth, which did nothing whatsoever to reassure me.

"Destiny. Destiny Wiebke."

"Well Destiny," her eyes flashed slyly. "You're just in time for supper." I _really_ didn't like the way she was looking at me.

"Aleera?" Another vampire, this one with black hair, appeared from another hallway.

"Back of Verona," snapped Aleera. "This one's mine."

Verona traced a vein on my neck. "But surely you can share? I wouldn't take much." I whimpered, knowing I was no match for the two vampires, both of whom seemed intent on having me for a snack

Verona bent towards my neck and I shrieked. Out of reflex, I backhanded her, causing her head to snap sharply to the side. She hissed in fury and grabbed my hair, baring my neck before piercing my trembling flesh with her fangs.

"Stop!" The Count's voice reverberated angrily around the hall. The fangs pulled out of my throat and Verona let go of me so quickly that I landed on the floor with a dull thud. Verona and Aleera were joined by a third vampiress and the three of them huddled against each other as Dracula strode into view, fury written on his face.

"Fools! Do you know how close you just came to ruining all of my plans?!" he bellowed. The brides merely wailed in distress, which I found rather annoying, but I couldn't blame them; I was scared too, even though his anger was not directed at me.

"Master, why is this mortal here? Do you tire of us so quickly?" Marishka cried reaching out towards him with one hand.

"I do not. You have your uses," he snapped curtly, "and she has hers." I blinked, my left hand poised just above my wound, where blood was trickling from the punctures. Dracula looked in my direction and I unwittingly met his gaze. Something in his eyes compelled, no, ordered me to walk to him. The force of it in my mind made it a summons I could not ignore. Dracula slid his arms about my waist and pressed me to his side, looking at his brides as he licked the blood from my neck.

"Master," Aleera began, but Dracula cut her off.

"No harm is to come to her. Is that understood?" he hissed. Fearing more of his wrath, they nodded anxiously.

"Good. Leave." They were all too happy to comply and be out of the presence of their volatile master. I stared after their retreating white forms, wondering is they would really keep their word or if I should expect some retribution in the future.


	3. Explanations to Riddles

Chapter 3: Explanations to Riddles

Once again, I don't own, which thoroughly sucks. sniff

AN: Okay, this is the last chapter for a few days, at least until I finish writing chapter eight. I need to keep ahead of myself and not post so fast that I end up with no ready-made chapters and writer's block (funny how those two always seem to go together). But I'll either post weekly, or put up a reserve chapter for every new chapter i complete (if that makes any sense). TY for the reviews. I feel so loved.

Oh, and in answer to one of the reviews: I never _said_ she was necessarily a vampire. : )

"Thank you," I said, out of habit. In hindsight, I really didn't think vampires were too concerned with such petty things as saying "please" and "thank you". I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but Dracula kept me securely in place.

"Really my Lord, I'm fine!" But my protests fell on deaf ears as he began to kiss my neck. I tried again, more bluntly.

"Count Dracula," I said firmly, "I beg you, please stop!"

"Come now my dear," he said, amusement tingeing his voice, "do not be coy. I will not be denied by one of mine."

"One of yours?" I managed to pry myself from his embrace and backed up a few paces. "Denied _what_? You speak it riddles!"

Dracula regarded me with interest. "No one ever told you?"

I shook my head in confusion. He smiled and licked a stray drop of my blood from his lips.

"A curious thing, angel's blood," he remarked. "It can lie dormant in a family for generations on end and no one would be the wiser. But upon contact with vampiric blood, as I have found out, it must awake and purge the body of such poison, effectively dominating over any mortal blood one might possess. Resulting in," he gazed at me with such intensity that I squirmed, "the creation of an angel."

"If what you say is indeed true," and I was skeptical, even though it _would _explain the wings, "then why aren't I up there, behind the Gates?" I indicated the sky with a sweep of my hand.

"Two things." He grasped my hand so I couldn't jerk away and kissed the palm. "One, mortal blood, however small a percentage now, still flows through your veins. And," he smiled, "I have bonded your mind to mine. Oh no," he added, seeing my look of horror, "you are not a vampire. You have true immortal life, complete with a beating heart, the ability to forgive, to feel love, all the things vampires lack."

Interestingly, his voice sounded almost bitter. But he'd know the deal when he'd sold his soul, so what was he upset about? He continued, "But I will always know where you are, your thoughts, your feelings. So you see my love, you are mine."

I was drawn into his embrace once more and he firmly kissed my lips, which were trembling in the effort not to cry. But as my eyes filled, a tear escaped and rolled down the curve of my cheek leaving a wet salty trail behind it. More inevitably followed in silent succession.

"Tears," murmured the Count, wiping them away with a thumb as if they were foreign objects. "Are you really so saddened by this fate, of staying here in my castle, being well provided for? I would think it much more preferable to living out your days serving another family until old age renders you useless for even the most menial task. Now you will never be useless."

I stumbled away from him as if stung, my expression one of incredulous disbelief.

"Preferable? Preferable! I am immortal against my will, doomed to live forever in a vampiric ice castle with a demon-man who can read my mind and his three fanged WHORES!" As I talked, my voice rose in pitch until I was nearly screaming at him. Infuriated, I spun violently away from him and fled down the hall. Suddenly the Count was standing in my path. I was seized from front and slammed against the wall.

"You will not speak that way to me or about my brides!" Dracula roared. "I may have need of you, but that does not mean I will stand for that behavior! I am the master here and you WILL OBEY THAT!"

I gave a piercing shriek in response to the pain, for he was strongly reinforcing the message in my head with his mind, and nearly passed out. Somehow, I managed to remain conscious.

"Do you understand?" he hissed, fangs slightly elongated in rage. I shrank back in fear, nodded tearfully. This calmed him slightly and I felt the pressure on my mind ease, thought he still maintained his grip on my upper arms. My breath came in ragged gasps as I stared at him, wondering what to expect next. Clearly he was a master of mood shifts.

"Hush," Dracula said softly, placing one cold finger on my lips to still them. "There is no need for fright." His voice had an odd soothing quality to it and I felt my trembling stop as tense muscles relaxed.

"Come, the sun is rising and it is time to sleep." My eyelids felt kind of heavy all of a sudden and I was forced to lean on Dracula for support, resting a hand on his shoulder. As he picked me up and walked down another hallway, I realized that this peaceful, sleepy feeling was his doing. Rage boiled up at the thought of him tampering with my mind, but this feeling was pushed to the back of my mind for future use. I was dimly aware of being laid onto a satin surface before sleep overcame me.

Heehee. The alternate name for this chapter was "Temper Tantrums". Now, you know the drill:

Reviews = happy author = happy author's muse = inspiration = more chapters for you. (and cookies which, well, I'll eat and pretend I gave to you.)


	4. I'm Not Tired!

Chapter 4: I'm Not Tired

Though I have tried unsuccessfully to kidnap various characters, I sadly still own no one but Destiny.

AN: Phew! I finally finished chapter 8, which is amazing since I had writer's block throughout the whole darn thing! Which meant I'd write a sentence or two, then walk away from my computer. Don't know how I thought this was helping me, it only seemed to make it worse. And it took a while (the longest chapter yet) But I finally got to where I wanted to be by the end, so I'm happy. Can now start chapter 9. After I post chapter 4, which is not as long as chapter 8, well, almost.

I awoke in near pitch darkness, resting in the crook of someone's arm. An experimental prod at it confirmed it as Dracula's. I tried to sit up, but only succeeded in banging my head on the top of some sort of box. _Of course_, I thought, biting back a curse,_ he's a vampire. Makes sense for him to sleep in a coffin._ But that didn't mean I had to. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness and I was fumbling with the latch on the coffin's satin insides when my hands were covered by a larger one.

"I am curious," came Dracula's smooth voice from the darkness beside me, "as to what you are doing my love. The sun is not even at its zenith and there are still many more hours to sleep."

"I'm not tired anymore," I replied tartly. Dracula chuckled and pulled me down again to lie beside him, a most unwanted position in my opinion.

"Such a spirit," he remarked, stroking my long hair. It felt surprisingly good, and for a minute I almost forgot what a demon he was as I relaxed against him, nearly falling asleep again.

I had lain there for about thirty seconds when I realized exactly what he was trying to do. With a cry of disgust at my own stupidity (never once thinking myself a victim of the manipulations of a cunning, 300-year-old vampire), I shoved the lid of the coffin up and scrambled out.

The suddenness of that action surprised Dracula for only a moment before he followed, but it was enough for me to dash to one of the large windows and fling back the heavy draperies. Sunlight flooded in, creating a patch of light on the floor that I stood inside, for I knew sunlight burned vampires. Dracula stopped at the edge of the pool of light, looking at me with amused eyes. I stared him down, my face set, my ice-colored eyes glinting the cold hard blue of anger.

For a while, neither of us said anything. I cannot ever hazard a guess as to what Dracula may have been thinking but suddenly, he began to laugh. My look of anger faded to one of puzzlement.

"I see you know some vampire lore," he grinned. "But you forgot one other thing."

As I watched, he began to pace around the edges of the light. But when he got to the wall, he just kept going, up, up, until he reached the top of the window hangings. It was then that I realized the flaw in my ploy. With a flick of his hand, he thrust the drapes closed, effectively cutting off the sunlight. He walked down the wall again to stand in front of me again.

"Showoff," I muttered. He laughed.

"Clever of you, to think to create that." I spat on the stones in front of him to show him what I thought of _that_ opinion. This only served to amuse him further.

"See, that is what I admire most about you," he said circling me. "Never afraid to show some rebellion, some spirit. One of these days though, you will run out of ideas, out of these interesting little diversions. And then you will have no choice but to come to me. You know you can't keep this up forever."

I tilted my chin defiantly and narrowed my eyes at him. "But thanks to you I have forever to try now, don't I?" With that, I brushed rudely past him and strode out of the room.

Stalking down the sweeping staircases, I headed for the main part of the castle. That would be where the great hall would be and where there was a great hall, there was a door to the outside.

I burst out into the sunlight, blessing its warmth on my face. I tore across one of the catwalks that spanned the abyss between the two parts of this mountain fortress, not stopping my frenzied pace until I had reached the middle.

For a while, I just stood there while the snow slowly numbed my bare feet and stared across the mountains that separated me from the castle I called home and the village I'd grown up in. Nostalgia washed over me in bittersweet waves and I closed my eyes to better pictures those memories, but my mind's eye remained nearly blank. Not even gone two days and I could not remember what my Lord's face looked like, though I'd served him my entire life.

Turning my head towards the castle, I searched the windows on its face, peering closely at the ones located in shadowy nooks. He was there, watching me, I was sure of it.

'Stop tampering with my head!' I thought furiously at him.

'The more you provoke me, the more I will respond in kind,' he replied mildly. 'It's simply my nature to do so.'

'Your nature be damned! Do you think I care? Now get out of my head or I'll –'

'You'll what?' Dracula seemed amused now, which did nothing for my temperament. 'My dear, you are in no position to make any threats.'

'Oh really?' Reaching up with one hand, I grabbed the rim of one of the unlit fire basins and pulled myself up onto the edge of the catwalk wall. I stood there defiantly as snowflakes began to drift down from the gathering clouds above, frosting my hair and dress. I caught a small spike of…was it anxiety? from the Count.

'You never did teach me how to use my wings' I shot at him, a little smugly. 'Or perhaps, I won't need them…' I let that thought hang, deliberately poking at him in my anger. Still keeping my eyes on the castle, I swung one foot out over the abyss, wobbling a little as I balanced precariously on one foot on the wall.

With an ear-rending screech, a large bat-like creature burst from the castle and swooped towards my position on the wall. Except I was no longer _on_ the wall. The mental force of Dracula's blazing fury had sent me toppling over the edge and I was now on a crash course down.

__

If you play with fire Destiny, I berated myself, _You're going to get burned_. And it looked like I was in for a scorching worthy of Hell itself.

My descent was abruptly cut short with a painful jerk as Dracula's claws closed around my middle and I was born upwards by his powerful wing strokes.

__

I'm in trouble.

Hah! I made a cliffy! (at least I think I made a cliffy) and if I made a cliffy then it would be my first cliffy. (you can tell I'm inordinately pleased with myself, can' you?) my kitty muse also says it's review time and thank you for the reviews that I've already gotten. I feel so loved sniff


	5. Meet the Children

Chapter 5: Meet the Children

I'm so bad, I'm already breaking my promise to myself about updates (I haven't even gotten a quarter of the way through Ch. 9. Major writer's block. Urgh.). But, people are being really nice with the reviews and this was a fun chapter to write. I love it when my characters fight. 

Inside, I went spinning through the air as Dracula flung me across the front hall. A stone pillar halted my flight abruptly with a sickening _crack_ and I spent the next few second looking at the stars that seemed to hover in front of my face. They were really pretty, actually. Lucky for me, I hadn't hit the pillar head-on, more of a bounce off the side that still made me a little dizzy.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" Dracula screamed at me. I got quite a good view of all his fangs and couldn't stop from shaking in sight of his full-blown demonic rage. "YOU WOULD HAVE DIED!" I dodged his wings and scrambled clumsily to my feet, still slightly woozy. As I did, I grew my own wings, not so much for using them as for reassurance.

"Yes, and that would have ruined your _plans_. I know!" I snarled. "But you listen to ME Dracula," and I sent the winged vampire a glare that would turn the dead in their graves, "I don't CARE about any of your plans and I will NOT. BE. USED!" I fanned my wings in anger and we glared at each other in a battle of wills.

Which was probably one of the stupidest things I've ever done. I lowered my eyes first and spun around to leave the hall.

Only I ran smack into something bulbous and slimy. I drew back in disgust. And noticed similar sacks hung all over the walls.

"What _are_ those?" I cried.

"Ah," said the Count, resting a now-human hand on my shoulder. "Let me introduce you to my children. Of course," his voice held a trace of bitterness in it, "they are dead."

"Your children!?" I retracted my wings in surprise, surveying the seemingly endless rows of sacs, wombs, I realized in horror. If these little monstrosities were ever alive… I didn't want to finish that thought.

"At the moment, I do not know how to give them life," he said. I turned. He was staring up at the sacs with a hint of regret in his eyes. I felt sorry for him. Wait, no! I didn't! But then again…

"I'm sorry," I said, laying a hand on his shoulder. This time, it was he who looked at me in surprise.

"Do you really?" he asked softly, his eyes glinting. I looked down at the floor.

"I…I don't really know. But, I can imagine it must be hard, and if not for you then for your brides, to birth only dead children time and again. Painful."

Dracula looked at me intently. "Who did you know who could not have a child?"

__

That startled me. "How did you…?"

He tapped the side of his head with one finger. "The mind bond, my dear Destiny. I can sense your thoughts, remember."

"Oh. Right. There was a servant in the castle, Katrina, who was rendered barren by a fever she contracted when she was about my age. Since she desperately wanted a child but could not have one of her own, or so goes what I've been told, she found another woman who was expecting. This woman wasn't from the village and could not keep her child, because she was not married. See," I explained, "if she returned to her village with a baby, she would be forever shamed, and shunned. No man would ever marry her." I realized that Dracula was listening to my story with great interest and continued.

"Katrina agreed to take the woman's child when she gave birth, which was not too far off, and after a couple weeks the woman gave birth to a baby girl, whom Katrina adopted. Now mind you, Katrina was very religious. She believed that fate brought the child to her, that it was her destiny. So that's what she named her surrogate daughter. That's what I've been told all my life." I blinked in confusion. "I don't know why I told you that last part."

The Count shrugged. Well, I hadn't felt him tamper with my mind at all. Maybe I was too suspicious of him.

Paranoid, almost.

Well, maybe not paranoid.

Yet.

"I guess I just got carried away." I said. "Excuse me…my Lord." I added, almost sarcastically as I dipped a small curtsy and left the room, still aching from my impact with the pillar and still furious with him, no matter what the state of his kids. Rounding a corner, I found him staring at a painting on the wall. Conveniently, he was standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Urg!" I cried in exasperation. "Would you stop _doing_ that!?" He tucked a piece of black hair behind his ear and raised his eyebrows.

"I have the right to move as I will throughout my own castle," he said mildly. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." I shook a finger at him in annoyance. "Hmph. You are decidedly the most bothersome, annoying, _irritating _person I have ever had the displeasure of knowing!"

"You really should stop being so complimentary my dear." Dracula grasped the hand I'd been gesticulating with and kissed the back of it lightly. I pulled it out of his grasp with an oath.

"Damn it Dracula, stop doing that as well!" He smiled down at me. I _really_ hated being shorter than him. I hated being shorter that everyone for that matter, but him especially.

"What a nice change it is," he said in his heavily accented voice, "To hear you speak my name so passionately."

I sucked in my breath as my cheeks flamed, my temper rising further. "Don't even go there Vladislaus Dracula!" I hissed. I pushed him hard enough to sent him back a few paces. "You may be a vampire, but that gives you no right to toy with me like this. And don't even think for a _second_ that you can scare me into submission again!"

"Is that a challenge?"

C'mon, review. You know you want to. (because that's the only way I'll post the next chapter anytime soon. And yes, that is blackmail.) Please?


	6. Of Passion and Temper Tantrums

Chapter 6: Of Passion and Temper Tantrums

I can't believe it. I really can't believe it. Here I posted chapter 5 today, complaining about writer's block, then I go and write all of chapter nine in one go! Life's funny that way. Cheers to Verona for giving me so many reviews. I'm really glad you like my story so much. It's currently 9:29 at night, I just took my sleep medicine, and I have just 4 minutes of internet time in which to post this thing before CyberPatrol (ooooooh, I HATE it!) shuts it down because I've reached my daily limit. Will I make it? Guess we'll find out.

my kitty muse says hi. (and has been hitting me over the head repeatedly with a large rubber mallet to get chapter 9 done so fast. Ow.)

Dracula wrapped one arm around my waist and drew me close, tipping my chin up with a cold finger. I stared at him defiantly.

"Do you know," he whispered, his handsome face inches from mine, "how beautiful you are when you are angry?"

"Do you know how possessive you are?" I asked dryly, quirking one eyebrow. He laughed appreciatively and traced the outline of my mouth with his finger.

"You would have made a wonderful Bride, were you not an angel. Not," he added, "that I mind you like this."

His mouth descended on mine and I tried to pull away in surprise, but he held me fast, one hand behind my head. Dracula bit down on my lower lip and I tasted the coppery taint of blood in my mouth.

__

Vampires. Have to drag blood into everything.

Oddly enough, it felt as if a ribbon of fire was uncurling in the pit of my stomach and for some reason, I felt like wrapping my arms around his neck. So I did.

My mind started to grow fuzzy as I hung there in his grasp. I believe he forgot that _one_ of us at least needed to breathe. Just before I was about to faint from lack of oxygen he pulled back, but still maintained a firm grip on my waist, which I was thankful for.

"You're manipulating me, I know it." And I was getting annoyed with him again for it.

Dracula's eyes glittered and he started to kiss my neck. "But it is so much fun, no?" I had no reply to that. His hands began to wander around my waist and it sent a shiver down my spine. I had had no sweetheart in my village, and I wasn't sure how to deal with these new emotions, however much I hated the cause.

'Just go with them.'

And I wanted to, damn him, I wanted to. But I could not; no matter how darkly wonderful he seemed at that moment, he was still a vampire. And an egocentric womanizer at that. I racked my brain for an excuse to get away.

"My Lord…" He ignored my whisper. I tried again, placing one hand lightly on the side on his face and twisting my neck slightly away from his pursuit.

"Dracula," I said softly. Blue eyes met black in concern. "What about the Brides?" It was as good an excuse as any.

"I do not forget them. They feel emotions yes, but not to the extent that you do my angel. With our bond, they are…intoxicating." I was quickly coming to hate the pronoun 'my' with a passion.

I shook my head. "That's not what I meant. I mean, won't they be jealous and try to get revenge or something of the sort?"

Dracula's smile was fond. "Do not worry," he assured me. "I will not slight them with inattention, if that if what you fear. Besides, they know that this is the purpose I brought you here for and they will not risk my wrath by disobeying me. I am still the master here."

"Purpose?" I searched his face for an answer.

"For me to give life to new children, they must be nurtured by a living person." He caressed my cheek. "And perhaps, by taking a living Bride, she could rekindle feeling inside of me again." His voice grew distant.

Comprehension dawned on my face, quickly to be replaced by horror, then rage. So I wrenched away from his grasp and slapped him as hard as I could. Dracula's eyes darkened slightly, if that was even possible.

"Monster!" I screamed at him. "You are nothing more than a cold unfeeling demon who would decide my fate out of his own selfishness!" There seemed to be an unholy blue tinge to his eyes and his fangs had elongated. I knew his patience with me was undoubtedly wearing thin; I was dancing around the edges but could not stop.

"If I could, I would personally torch every one of those disgusting sacks hanging out there in the hall and dump the ashes into the deepest abyss I could find rather that let you find some way to give them life!" My finger jabbed in the corresponding direction, and I quickly found myself dangling a foot above the ground, looking at an enraged vampire who had his hand locked around my throat, effectively cutting off my air supply.

"You will soon learn," he said in a deadly cold tone that sent fear running down my spine, "that I will not tolerate constant fits of temper such as you seem to be so fond of displaying. If you will not cease them voluntarily, you will find I have other, more unpleasant means at my disposal to achieve the same end." He tossed me to the floor and glared at me. _I think he broke something_, I though in disgust. Despite the pain, I managed to stand and face him, though I did so from the opposite side of the hall.

"I use to pity you, did you know that?" I asked him in a distant tone. Giving him no time to answer, it was rhetorical anyway, I continued. "When I first came here, I pitied you for your isolation. I pitied you for your inability to feel, for your lack of a soul. Even though they were little monstrosities, I pitied you for your unborn dead children."

I shook my head slightly and contempt colored my voice. "No longer Dracula. I despise you to Hell and back." With that I turned and left, heading up one of the numerous staircases into an unfamiliar area of the fortress.

Hey! Another two pager! (the full story at this point is up to about 18 pages. Go me) reviews make the world go round. And I love you guys soooo much for the one's I've gotten. And in such a short amount of time too. : D


	7. Girl Talk

Chapter 7: Girl Talk

AN: WEEE!!!!!

Singing : Happy happy birthday, happy happy me! I think I'll post this chapter, because I turned fifteen! (end song)

Hah! Well, that pretty much sums it up. The only reason I have for posting this chapter is that I'm bouncing off the walls with birthday hyperness. And to appease my conscious, I _am_ working on chapter 10, it's just slower going now because I'm in camp at the Art Institute from 9-3, so I don't have as much time to write as I would like. But I'm trying valiantly. Enjoy the product of my madness!

This area was decidedly less warmly decorated than other areas I'd been to, but that only made me all the more curious as to what was up here. The staircases were seemingly endless and on the rare occurrence that I did pass a window, it showed me that I was nearing the top of the castle. When my legs informed me that they were in no condition to travel up any more stairs, I chose a corridor to explore. One door down that hall was slightly ajar and elaborately carved.

Curiosity piqued, I opened it to find myself in a rich but coldly decorated room, in themes of black and green. Strangely, there was a large coffin in the middle of the room and while that should have sent warning bells off in my head, it didn't. About to step into the room to investigate what all was in it, I noticed the black-haired vampire, Verona, I think it was, sitting at a table. Trying not to make any noise that would alert her to my presence, I hadn't forgotten our last encounter, I backed out of the room.

"I know you are there Destiny. You do not need to bother with all this sneaking around." The vampiress's words caused me to freeze.

Of course. She'd've heard my heartbeat. Jeez. I should've remembered. But I stepped back into the room.

"Alright Verona, I'm here. What do you want?" Verona rose from her seat and turned in my direction.

"What do _I _want? I was going to ask you. That is, if you were doing anything beyond exploring your new home."

__

Home. The word flowed so easily off her tongue but it seemed to lodge itself in my throat like a large ball and refused to move. This cold place was not my home. My home was in my village, with my mother and my ruling Lord. Right now I would have been mending his children's clothing, or helping my mother tend the herb garden. No, this ice fortress would never be home.

Verona noticed my prolonged silence. "Is something that matter?" Her look of hauteur never changed, but I could tell she was genuinely interested. I sighed and looked at the stones on the floor.

"It's nothing really," I lied, but a glance up told me the Bride wasn't buying it. She beckoned with one finger.

"Come, sit here and tell me," she motioned to a small lounge and I waited for her to sit before I did. I still didn't trust her.

"Really, it's nothing major," I tried again. "I'm just having problems with Dracula, that's all. Nothing to be worried about." Verona quirked an eyebrow.

"What sort of problems are you having with the Master?"

"And that's another thing. Why do you call him 'Master'? It's not like you're slaves or anything."

"We leave the slaving to the Dwergi. They –"

"Wait a minute," I interrupted. "Dwergi? What in the world is a Dwergi?"

"They are the servants of our Master. Misshapen mistakes of the Devil that have no real mind of their own. But they're vicious enough to intruders and are fairly obedient. Now what is the matter between you and our Master?"

"_Your _master," I corrected. "Not mine. He did not create me, he does not control me, _I owe him nothing_." The last words came out in a fierce hiss.

"Think what you will," Verona said mildly. That was another thing that was bothering me.

"Why are you so calm about all of this? My being here and all." I motioned around with my hand. "I would have thought you'd be jealous and try to eat me or something equally nasty." My laugh had a bit of a nervous edge to it. Verona merely shrugged indifferently.

"Destiny, I have been competing with Marishka and Aleera for the Master's attention for upwards of three hundred years. One more woman will not make a difference."

"Well, that's a relief." At least I didn't have to worry about _her_. Verona seemed to pick up on my thoughts (between her and Dracula, it was getting annoying).

"You will need to tread lightly around Aleera though," she cautioned. "She has a vengeance streak in her that causes problems occasionally. We nearly lost Marishka once because of it."

She laughed, a bit unkindly. "The Master was _not_ pleased with her, to put it very lightly. Now," she said in an abrupt change of topic. "why are you so angered with him?"

I pretended to think about that for a minute, tapping one finger against my mouth. "Hmm, maybe because he took me from my home? Or made me immortal without my permission? Or has a thing for tampering with my mind? Or thinks I belong to him? Or _maybe_," I was on my feet, getting more upset with every word I said, "because he wants to have sex with me for the sole purpose of having a slew of evil little children that he can unleash on the world and doesn't even care about how I feel on the matter!"

I didn't realize that I was crying, hot tears slipping from reddened eyes and rolling down flushed cheeks, until Verona offered me a delicate handkerchief. Why she even had one, I didn't know. Then, the vampiress did something extremely strange.

She hugged me.

"It is not as bad as you might think," she said soothingly. "In time, you will get used to everything."

"I don't _want_ to get used to it," I muttered rebelliously. Verona ignored the comment.

"You will get used to him as well. And it is not so bad," she smiled at the memory of some forgotten time. I didn't want to know.

"But all he can feel is lust," I complained. Forlornly, I added, "And I want love."

"Do not worry," Verona assured me. "The festival in Budapest will cheer you up."

"Budapest?"

"Yes. In two weeks, there is a festival and masked ball for All Hallow's Eve at our summer palace. It will be very entertaining. Go," she turned me around and gave me a little push towards the door. "Design a costume for yourself."

I was _very_ confused. Vampires were evil: this was an established fact. They sucked blood, killed people. They were demons! They could not feel because they had no beating heart, could they? After my time with Verona, I wondered. She didn't seem that evil towards me, almost friendly.

And what was with the hug? I couldn't understand any of this.

'Kay now, the best birthday I could get is reviews so press the button! Heehee, flames will be used to light the candles on my cake!


	8. Are You Lecturing Me?

Chapter 8: Are You Lecturing Me?

AN: Told 'ya this was the longest chapter. Three pages, personal record. I'm having a fcking hard time trying to get past this one point in chapter ten. It sucks. I have the whole rest of the chapter planned out but can't seem to get them to leave. (you'll understand) but I thought, what the hell? I'll post this chap anyway. 'Ta blazes with my plan. I don't need it anyway.

I will RUE this one day. I know it. Oh well.

I spent the next few days planing my dress for the festival. Deciding to try something different, and to stand out from the Brides whom I suspected would be wearing their usual tinted white, I went with the theme of red and black. The dress was made of black satin with a tight waist (but I absolutely refused to don a corset!) which led to a sweeping black skirt opening on a deep red petticoat embroidered in gold. The bodice had a similar red and gold stomacher. The neckline was broad and square, alibi a tad low, and the bell sleeves were slightly puffed from shoulder to elbow, where they were gathered by a gold band.

I figured that the masked ball's guest list, since Dracula was going, wasn't going to be entirely human. Keeping that in mind, I planned that my only jewelry was going to be my silver cross pendant. It had been in the pocket of my nightdress when I came here. That should discourage any impromptu snacking.

I hoped.

The task of nearly four days completed, I finally left my room in search of some other pastime. _I am_, I thought as I prowled around various hallways, _I think, doomed to a life of endless wandering, at this rate anyway. There is nothing interesting here._

Wrong.

I think it was at the third floor above ground level that I stumbled upon the library, and a marvelous one at that, containing rows upon rows of bound volumes stacked neatly on shelves nearly as tall as the large vaulted ceiling.

"Glory," I whispered, running a finger lovingly along the spine of a book. I had always admired Lord Cyril's library, on the occasion that I had been in there to clean or such. Even though the large bay window was missing, the library still felt very warm and familiar. Maybe all libraries were just like that. The fire in the ornamental fireplace had died down, so I built it up before inspecting the contents of the shelves.

__

Hmm, Torture Methods of the 15th Century? I think not. Better try a less violent section. A History of Money: Politics Behind Coin Production!? Boring! Oh… this looks interesting. I pulled a heavy tome off the shelf and staggering slightly under its weight, set it down on a table. It was a reference book on supernatural and mystical creatures that I was used to discarding as merely myths.

Hee hee. Wrong again.

__

Well, I'm living in a vampire's castle. The thought of what some on my friends among the servants would say if they found _that_ one out amused me to no end. Curling up in an oversized armchair and balancing the book on my lap, I couldn't decide if they would run in terror, bemoan my 'sad and sorry fate' while dividing my small paycheck between them, or mount a rescue attempt.

The last was so far-fetched and laughable that I wondered what had possessed me to think of it in the first place. I laughed at the mental image of Mikal charging the castle on a horse, sword in hand. He'd kill himself before he even got to the door.

'You seem happy.'

I groaned to myself, cursing as I focused on an illustration of a Chimera.

'And? Listen Dracula, if you've got a point to make, make it and leave me alone.'

'That was cold.' His mental voice was amused.

'So? If you'll excuse me, I'm _trying_ to read.'

"That's actually a relatively interesting book." I jumped about a foot and cursed again as I realized he was leaning over the back of the chair.

__

Damn it.

"Have you been reading over my shoulder the whole time?" I demanded, perversely irritated with him. I hated that ability that allowed vampires to move so quickly from one place to another.

"Such language. And no, I just came in to see where you've been hiding for the past four days."

"I thought you're little mind-bond could locate where I was," I pointed out.

"The general area, not a specific spot in a certain room."

"Mmph." Shrugging, I turned back to my book and pointedly ignored him. However, when I looked up five minutes later, he was still there, alibi searching through the shelves. To my extreme embarrassment, my stomach picked that time to growl with hunger. With a sigh, resigned at having to ask him for help, I stood, smoothed my burgundy skirts, and placed my book on the desk. Crossing the library, I tapped Dracula on the shoulder.

"Um…sorry to bother you, but…" I trailed off. He turned.

"Hungry?"

I nodded slightly and also to my extreme embarrassment, felt a blush spread over my face. To make matters worse, Dracula noticed this as he led me out of the room and laughed.

"Your face is really the most interesting shade of red, Destiny."

I muttered something that, while it adequately expressed my feelings on the matter, could not be repeated in polite society.

Causing him to shake his head in mock-disapproval. "Where you learned a phrase like that…" he said, patting my cheek. I growled slightly, debating whether to bite his thumb or not. Seeing as we'd finally reached a dining room, I decided not. But judging by the way he pulled his hand away with a slight smirk, I wouldn't have succeeded anyway.

A dark wooden table in the middle of the room contained just enough food for one human of an average appetite. I had no idea where it came from, but it looked good. I took one of the high-backed chairs, Dracula took another.

__

Vampires. I snorted._ Masters of creepy lurking and not good for much else. Bothersome, irritating creatures_. I stabbed a piece of meat with my fork and chewed thoughtfully, looking around absently.

"What happened?" I pointed my fork at his hand, specifically, the one I'd noticed was missing a finger. "To your finger?" Picking up the goblet, I took a sip of water.

He looked down at the stub of his ring finger.

"An old…_friend_ was so kind as to remove it for me," he said tightly, clenching his other fist tightly, as if he were imagining strangling this person who'd cut it off, probably when he was mortal, because vampires regenerated pretty quickly. Obviously he _really_ hated this guy, his whole face was tensed and his eyes looked almost electric blue.

__

Bang. The sound of my cup being brought forcefully down on the table caused Dracula to look up.

"If you hit me because of some personal vendetta against someone long dead," I told him sternly, "Then know I will hit you back, harder, and in a place you won't like very much."

While it didn't have exactly the effect I intended, he did calm down slightly.

"Are you lecturing me?" he asked wryly. I scowled at him.

"Yes." I was nothing but defiant in that. He gave a short laugh.

"No one has lectured me in 300 years."

"It's about time too," I muttered.

"I heard that."

The picture of maturity, I stuck my tongue out at him. It gave me childish satisfaction (well, I was only eighteen. What did you expect?). "You were supposed to."

"Your maturity astounds me."

The hilarity of this situation finally dawned on me and I laughed, really laughed for the first time since I'd been brought to his castle. Here I was, lecturing and bantering with _the_ Dracula, blood-sucker extraordinar, over dinner of all things! Which reminded me. I'd been here a week and not needed a meal 'til today. So I asked him.

"You're immortal," Dracula said by way of explanation. "You won't need to eat as often."

"Mmph," was my only comment. "Verona told me about Budapest, by the way. Sounds interesting."

"Oh it most assuredly is. Budapest is so…alive, if you know what I mean." To which I gave a slight shudder. "That reminds me." He looked at my thoughtfully. I put down the remainder of my bread.

"What?"

"We will need to teach you how to fly. It's the fastest way to get there and I can imagine it would not be comfortable to be carried for two days."

Flying. The word filled me with so much joyful anticipation that I did something that even to this day still surprises me.

I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him, before running off through the castle, my euphoric laughter bouncing off the stone walls.

Please help appease my conscious and review. That'll trick it into thinking I did the right thing. Kekeke.


	9. What Happens When Angels Fly

Chapter 9: What Happens When Angels Fly

AN: Okay everyone, here's the deal. On Saturday (6/24) I'm going out of town to visit my friend Spage (that's her username), my absolute best friend forever. I'll be gone a week, until the 31st, so I'm posting both chapters 9 and 10 (_finally_ finished with it) for you guys to read while I'm gone.

* * *

That will use up all the chapters I had already typed, but since you guys have been so good about reviewing and such, I'll take a notebook on the plane and continue the story in gasp, longhand. But I have the immediate events planned out, so I should have one chapter at least done by the time I get back. In the mean time, enjoy these two!

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. I was in my room, two days later, and currently involved in the continuation of hitting my forehead with the palm of my hand. What had _possessed _me? But I promised myself, holding my cross pendant, that it would _never_,_ ever_ happen again.

Ever.

I had taken to substituting the bedpost for my hand when the door opened. Looking up in surprise, I saw Verona in the doorway, surveying the scene with wry amusement.

"If you are quite finished attempting to bash your brains in…?"

I blushed slightly. "Oh. Yeah, I'm done." _How stupid does that sound?_

"Then change into something warmer. I will teach you how to fly." She left, closing the door behind her. I stared after her for a second before tripping over myself trying to change into a heavier green velvet dress with a higher neck, tighter sleeves and less flowing skirt, perfect for flying.

Barreling down the seemingly endless flights of stairs, I was severely out of breath by the time I got down to the entrance level. Verona, standing near the wall, was nearly knocked over by me in my hasty excitement.

"A little anxious?" she asked.

"Sorry," I gasped, slowly regaining my breath. "I just finally want to have a use for these things."

She led me to a snowy patch of ground just outside the front door.

"Since you are a beginner we will need to start from the highest point possible to avoid any unfortunate incidents." I nodded my comprehension. It made sense. Dropping from a height would be easier on my undeveloped wing muscles then trying to lift my whole weight off the ground.

Glancing back at Verona, I jumped slightly, since she'd shifted into her pale winged form.

"Do not worry Destiny," she said as she launched herself and hovered over my head. She closed her talons gently around my arms. "We're just going to the top of the castle." Obviously she meant the one carved into the mountain. I barely had time to protest before she spiraled up the length of the mountain to the very top, with a convenient flat ledge that must be part of the castle.

When she let me go, I plopped to the ground, not sure my nerves would ever really recover. She just _had_ to fly in a tight spiral. I'm sure she did it on purpose to get me dizzy. Vampires have a weird sense of humor and, well, Verona was kind of laughing.

"Funny," I said, not at all amused. The stars, I noticed, were extremely beautiful at this altitude, twinkling in the velvety darkness, accompanied by a nearly full moon. Getting to my feet, I looked over at her for directions, my feathery white wings out and ready for flight. I hoped they'd know what they were doing, even if I had no clue.

"Go to the edge," Verona began calmly. Forcing down my nervousness, I did so. Usually heights didn't bother me, but it was just such a _long_ way down.

"You will take a jump start off the cliff for the first time," she continued. "As you bend your knees, furl your wings. Then when you jump, spread them and angle downward. This will bring you to a glide." I nodded, trying to keep track of her instructions in my head.

"Any dip in one of your wings," Verona cautioned, "will turn you to that direction. So wait until you are far enough away from and obstacle before doing so. Vladislaus would be highly displeased with me if you were to concuss yourself on a cliff your very first time."

"To put it _very_ lightly," I muttered, imagining the scene. Not pretty. And I had no desire for a concussion.

Okay. You can do this…anytime now…okay…need to stop giving self pep talk…

There was a disturbance in the air behind me and just before Verona's arms came into contact with my back, I plunged myself off the edge, mentally chanting the steps like a mantra as I did so.

Jump.

Spread wings. The air currents slowed my wings before my body caught up, so they were _almost_ pulled out of their sockets, but not quite.

Angle downward.

And then, I was flying. Okay, gliding, but I was too inexperienced to care about technicalities. The feeling of the chilly air caressing my face and flowing gently around my body felt wonderful. To think I'd been missing out on this my whole life.

I tried lowering my right wing slightly and to my delight, I turned a little in that direction. An exuberant grin spread itself on my face and I crowed my delight to the stars.

Verona pulled into my line of vision.

"Isn't it wonderful?" she called. The wind carried her words away slightly, but I could still hear them enough to answer back with a resounding, "It's amazing!"

Now the only thing missing was a way to get back at her for trying to push me off the ledge. As usual, my delightfully impish mind formulated a perfect idea. As Verona turned to guide me back to the castle, I suddenly tucked my wings in close to my body and dived. I could hear her startled shriek as I sped towards the ground and as she tried to draw even with me, I spread my wings again and was yanked upwards to descend in a lazy spiral.

Landing with only a few difficulties (like figuring out how to backwing and go vertical again) I landed in the vicinity of Verona.

Who was fuming.

For once, I found an angry vampire funny, probably because she deserved it in my opinion.

"Destiny," she said in a tightly controlled voice.

"What?" I asked innocently, widening my blue eyes at her. "I was only having a bit of fun."

"Which could have resulted in my head!"

Grinning, I held up my cross necklace. "I solemnly swear that I will never try to scare Verona out of her wits again if she tries to prematurely push me off a cliff. Happy?"

"Give me three good reasons why I shouldn't bite you right now." Verona wasn't about to let me off that easy. But she'd have to:

In a slightly singsong voice (my adrenaline was going berserk after the stunt I'd pulled) I said, "I only need one: 'cause Dracula said so."

* * *

Heh. I couldn't resist that prank. Probably not the best idea to piss off Verona, but she'll get over it, don't worry. There'll be no sneaky revenge killings here. Review please so that when I get back, I'll have a nice full inbox. ; )


	10. Travelling

Chapter 10: Travelling

AN: There's not much to say right now that I didn't already give you guys a heads up on in chapter 9. You know. Week vacation, two chapters posted. But I have to vent a little right now. THIS CHAPTER WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS! pant pant that felt good. But seriously, I couldn't get past the first two paragraphs for at least four days. I think my muse left on vacation before I did. It bugged the hell out of me. But I think I finally got a decent version of this chapter knocked out, so we'll see how that goes.

It took a few days to restore myself to Verona's good humor. True to her word, we practiced flying every night as soon as the sun set, sometimes going nearly the whole nightlong. The purpose of this she told me, was to built up my stamina for the trip to Budapest, which was now only a couple days away. If we made good time, and it was up to me to be able to keep up, we'd arrive the night before the festival. I was especially careful not to try Verona's patience again with another stunt. Sadly enough, she was the only one I trusted in the castle and I didn't want to burn my only bridge.

A slight tap on my door awakened me. Glancing at my window, I saw the last rays of the sun sinking below the horizon. Well, it was time to go. Slipping into my dress, I grabbed the small bag containing my costume, slid my arms through the strings, and left my room.

About to enter the hall, I froze. There was no mistaking the red-head clinging to Dracula, nor the blond lounging against a column. Aleera and Marishka, whom I'd avoided since the incident when Aleera'd tried to eat me. I was unsure of how to approach them now. So I decided to take the I-know-you-know-I'm-here-but-I-don't-want-you-to-see-me approach: I snuck down the length of the hall behind the columns to appear beside Verona.

And stood there, trying not to attract attention.

Which, needless to say, didn't work.

"Hello little one," purred Marishka, sauntering over, taking full advantage of her harem-girl's outfit. "You seem to have done well on your own. At least, you are still alive." She placed one slim finger under my chin and her plump lips curved into a smile that reminded me of a very satisfied cat. I suppressed a slight shiver.

My heartbeat must have changed because Dracula looked over at us and shook his head slightly. "Marishka, do stop scaring her. It is time to go anyway."

"Yes Master," Marishka said with another smile.

Wings appeared all around the room; the blue-white ones of the Brides, Dracula's black bat-like ones, mine of feathered white. I stuck close to Verona, partially as protection from Aleera, who was sending me some _extremely_ nasty glares behind her master's back.

The night air was crisp, but thankfully not too cold. Glancing sideways, I wondered idly if the vampires every felt the cold. They didn't seem too. Maybe I would ask Verona someday. I positioned myself on the edge of the flight in the rear where I was separated from Aleera by a good thirty or forty feet. My gut told me not to turn my back on her if at all possible. It was quite likely she wouldn't forgive my existence even given a thousand years to do so (if I had any say in the matter, she wouldn't be) and I wouldn't put it past her to crash into me, or attack me, or something equally painful, while making it look like an error on _my_ part.

It also allowed me to stay far from the count, who lead the way. I wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of seeing how much the sight of his hellbeast form frightened me. At least the Brides retained some vestiges of their human appearance.

These musings and others, on such topics as the changing scenery and my village, occupied my mind fairly steadily throughout the journey until the sky began to turn a pale gray in the east, heralding the approach of morning.

We angled downward and as we rounded a mountain, I could make out a large castle in the gloom. Obviously it was our destination and as we landed I asked, "Where are we? This isn't Budapest is it?"

Aleera rolled her eyes and gave a slight hiss at my ignorance, but everyone else seemed to take it with almost fond forbearance.

"No," explained Verona. "This isn't Budapest. This is a wayhouse of sorts, the home of another vampire where we are going to take shelter from the daylight. We will arrive in Budapest tomorrow."

Dracula strode up to the massive front doors and rapped once firmly upon their wooden surfaces. Immediately, they were opened by a small creature closely resembling an imp, with its large eyes, bony head, and large pointed ears. The thing gave a low bow as it held open the doors, addressing its remarks to the floor.

"The Master extends his greetings to you, sir. He says, when you are rested, if you will join him in the study? At your convenience of course sir." Dracula nodded in affirmation. The creature continued.

"This one can show you to your rooms, if sir so wishes." By this time we were all inside and it had shut the doors, turning to regard us solemnly.

"That will not be necessary." Dracula slid an arm around my waist, hand splayed in the small of my back, and with the air of long familiarity he led us up to a wing of rooms on one of the upper floors of the castle. Marishka and Verona eagerly went to claim whichever of the rooms they deemed the best, but Aleera would not so readily leave her master. At least not without having the last word.

"I still fail to see why _she_ needs to be here. If they don't make her into vampire fodder before the day is out, then I'm a wingless sparrow."

"May as well be," I muttured. Aleera hissed at me.

"Quiet," Dracula told me sharply. Turning to Aleera he said dryly, "However much I'm sure you have only her well-being in mind, you need not trouble your tender heart over the matter." Catching his hidden but pointed message, Aleera shot me one last glare before disappearing through a doorway. Dracula steered me into the last room.

"Stay here until I return," he instructed. Glancing around the room, I noticed it had a coffin instead of a bed.

"What –"

"However _honorable_ the vampires in this castle may seem, I don't trust them as far as they can walk in sunlight. But you can be guaranteed of safety as long as you remain here."

I cocked my head at him, puzzled. It seemed to me that a locked door or such wouldn't stop a vampire in bloodlust. "Why?"

He smiled. "Because this is where I stay." With that he strode out the door. I let out a strangled cry of annoyance. And discovered that I was locked in.

"Damn you!" I kicked the door for emphasis and stalked over to the other side of the room, where I sank down into a chair in front of the fireplace. Exhausted from the long flight, I must have dozed off at some point for when I opened my eyes again Dracula was just entering the room again.

"Having a nice nap?" he inquired. I wondered at his civility.

"I _was_." He chuckled and crossed the room to where I sat, still bleary-eyed.

"Come," Dracula said in a low voice, pulling me up from the chair. "You're done in and I can guarantee you will wake up extremely stiff if you sleep there."

My response was a slightly more awake mumble. My mind however was working itself into a puzzled frenzy over the events of today. Why was he going to such great lengths to protect me against some vampire sampling me, even – I realized as we reached the coffin – insuring it personally? I had not expected him to be capable of this much concern. It was kind of…sweet.

__

No! Bad thoughts! Really bad thoughts! Don't go there Destiny, that's a no-no. Defiantly taboo. But I did not protest at being laid into the coffin, still puzzling over this and mentally kicking myself, nor did I try to clamber out when he climbed in beside me.

"Sleep little angel," he murmured, stroking the side of my face.

"This doesn't change anything. I still hate you," I said, even as my eyelids were closing themselves. The last thing I heard before drifting into sleep was his amused reply.

"I know. I expected no less from you."

Again, please review for me so I'll have something really nice to come home to. C'mon, I'm going to do longhand for ya. That's got to count for something. : )


	11. Bitter Rain

Chapter 11: Bitter Rain

AN: I'm back! My trip was fun and it was great seeing my friend. I met her boyfriend, her crazy friend who has the same name as me (jeez that got confusing), and was reacquainted with how annoying her youngest brother is. (not even my sisters can match it. And that's saying a LOT) The highlight of my trip was when we went for a two hour hike in the mountains. We were climbing around on the rocks in the stream below the dam and guess what? I was well coordinated and fell in. banging both shins and my shoulder in the process. Heh.

I also got none of my goals accomplished during my trip. I had three: to write the thank-you notes from my b-day, to finish reading _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ for my school summer reading, and of course, to write this chapter. I came home with only a couple of paragraphs of this chappie done and nothing else.

To make matters worse, the events I was _trying_ to and _planning_ on writing for this chapter didn't even make it in and had to be bumped to chapter 12. (which I'll start today. Got nothing else to do because it's pouring down rain in monsoon quantities) So this stupid chap. Turned out completely different than I had planned. But my muse is random like that. Oh well. (mutters) slave driver. Sorry for the long AN.

My first view of Budapest filled me with awe. As we rounded the last mountain, it seemed to me as if a blanket of twinkling lights had been laid over the land for as far as the eye could see. Being raised in a small village of little more than a hundred people, I could not have imagined that such a city even existed.

And there, crowning the far bank of the diversionary river, was Dracula's summer palace. While much smaller in stature than I knew his ice fortress to be, this palace had a much warmer look about it. Maybe it was the absence of the towering black cliffs, or the ever-present whirling snow, or…

Either way, the palace glittered like a gem in the velvety night, the lights of the city reflecting off of marble statues had gold enamel. I could only imagine what the inside looked like.

We were greeted at the door by another small impish creature, not entirely unlike the one at the other vampire's castle. Stepping through the intricately carved front doors, it was as if I'd entered a fantasy realm of wealth. There was gold everywhere, expensive looking paintings and murals adorned the walls, and the floor, when I finally stopped gaping long enough to look at it, was made of polished marble. In my wildest dreams I could never have pictured myself standing in such surroundings.

Verona toughed my shoulder lightly, startling me out of my reverie. "Come," she said and led me up the main staircase to my room. I followed obediently.

At first, I did not notice much about my room, because immediately upon entering it, my attention was taken up wholly by what lay beyond the tall window. Leaving Verona to what she wished, I raced out onto the balcony and stood overlooking the city, with the river flowing swiftly two stories beneath my feet.

Taking a deep breath, I inhaled the unique scents of Budapest; oil from lanterns burning even at this late hour, smoke rising from taverns, the dampness of the river, the scent of foods whose names I could not discern. The sounds of carriages, boats ferrying goods sluggishly along the river, the chatter and laughter of the city's residents floated up to my ears. Their laughter struck a chord of longing within me.

In the complete isolation I'd become almost accustomed to during the past three weeks, I'd not constantly missed the companionship and close proximity to other humans. But here, where I could all but reach out my hand and touch them, they reminded me of what had been stolen from my existence. I longed to go out and walk among them, to engage in idle conversation that had no apparent reason or purpose other than to just give sound to thoughts.

A tear slipped down my cheek, hanging suspended on the tip of my chin for what seemed an eternity before falling gently to the stone railing. It was followed by two more, then three, until I was crying a silent bitter rain.

No one, immortal or no, should have to exist like this, cut off from the world they loved. I could not wait for All Hallow's to pass. It was cruel of Dracula to bring me here, whether he realized it or not. I missed the carefree quality of normal mortal life.

But I did not belong to their world any more. To them I was dead, no more than a wraith of this plane. Even if I was allowed to go into the city, I would stick out like a sore thumb. The odd one. The stranger.

Where did I belong, if not with other humans? Certainly not in the dark world I'd been living in, if one could call it that. I hesitate to even say living now, because looking back, it seemed as if I merely existed, wandering without an apparent purpose or direction to my life.

__

That's it, I snapped to myself,_ One way or another, I will go into Budapest._ My eyes roved the skyline, coming to rest a familiar and unmistakable silhouette.

__

There, I thought, me attention focused solely upon the black shape of the church steeple. _I'm going there._

I turned back to look into my room. Verona was long gone from my doorway, but just to be sure, I locked it. Sure, that'd only stop someone for about thirty seconds, but hey, it made _me_ feel better. Grabbing a cloak from the wardrobe, I hurried back out to the balcony. Tucking the cloak under my arm, I glided down, away from the palace, hugging the surface of the river to avoid detection.

It worked.

Once I reached the opposite bank, I wrapped the cloak around myself and drew up the hood to hide my odd colored hair before disappearing into the narrow streets. Before long, I wished I had ten more sets of eyes to look at everything. Even though many of the shops were closed at night, I saw bakeries, glass shops where the windows displayed delicately blown figurines and dyed goblets, tailor shops, cobblers, and more. I would have to return by day when everyone was asleep and go into every shop.

The church loomed at the end of the street, dark gray against the pure black of the sky. Suddenly, I shrank from entering that hallowed place. I had fallen so far. What if Dracula had tainted me too much with darkness? Looking up at the stained glass windows, their colored fragments depicting holy scenes, I gave a small laugh. There was no reason to fear the _church_ of all places!

The heavy doors opened with just the slightest creak of their hinges as I slipped inside the candlelit interior and made my way to the altar. Kneeling, I looked up into the painted face of the Virgin Mary, who was holding the baby Christ. There was something so calm and accepting about her face, something so forgiving and familiar. It was humbling, how the painting seemed to stare into my very soul and bare all the secrets of my being. I felt almost ashamed of what I brought before her.

"There are many who feel as you do child."

I glanced around, startled. An old priest was standing beneath a window, changing the tapers that had burned too low. He had a kind look on his face.

"Am I so transparent?"

"It is the nature of humanity child." He sank slowly onto one of the pews. I stood and turned to him, a question burning in my mind.

"Is anyone beyond redemption?" I nervously waited for his answer. It has cost a lot to ask him. The priest smiled.

"Everyone sins, and for that we must undergo punishment to atone for those sins. But we are merely human and therefore not infallible. God, in his mercy, forgives all of us." He gave me a pat on the shoulder. "You have nothing to fear child."

__

But I do, I though, watching him make his way back through the rows of church pews. _I have more to fear than you know._ I looked back at the image above the altar and traced my fingers over the cross resting on the table.

As my fingers moved over its outline I felt warmth spread through them, sending waves of peacefulness throughout my being. Light seemed to be absorbed into the cross rather than reflected off of it and as I closed my eyes, a voice whispered in my ear,

__

Courage, small one, courage.

My heart was much lighter as I left the church, once more pulling the hood of my cloak over my hair. Not really paying attention to anything but the general direction I was heading in, I turned down a narrow alleyway and headed back towards the river.

The feeling of edged steel sliding under my chin brought me sharply out of my reflections. I froze and turned slowly around to face my attacker. He was an older man, maybe in his fifties or so, wearing battered grimy clothes. He smelled rank.

"Well now," he said, leering at me. His rancid breath carried the heavy stench of drink. "Ye look like ye're worth a lot to summat. Meybe them that keeps ye won't begrudge a man a few coins fer yer safe return."

I shivered, but did not move. But I didn't worry for long. The man gave a shuddering gasp and staggered backwards, sinking slowly to the cobbled street. It was then that I noticed his dagger was no longer in his hand, pressed against my neck.

It was shoved through his chest from behind.

I looked up reluctantly. Only four people I knew could move that fast.

Dracula kicked the ruffian away. His eyes carried that unholy electric blue tinge and his pale face was sheet white with fury.

Kay, now be nice and give lots of reviews! Those, plus unmentionable amounts of sugar, is the only thing that keeps me going. (maybe that explains me being the way I am. dunno)


	12. Inner Turmoil

Chapter 12: Inner Turmoil

AN: **YEAH!!!!!! **I can now LEGALLY drive! WeeHeee! I am the proud owner of a class E learner's license! Hahah! Pedestrians beware! Drivers beware! Anything that moves…Beware! Kekekeke. (shifty eyes)

Yeah. On a more relevant note, All Hallow's is postponed yet _again._ I'm really sorry about that. Next chapter, I swear! Really! The thing that happened is that at 1:00 am, under the influence of sleeping meds and therefore extremely out of it, my muse thought of the idea for this chapter. I think she's on something, really. So if this chapter totally sucks or confuses you, you'll know why.

…………………..

"Perhaps I made a mistake," said Dracula tightly. He was searching through a drawer for something. I stood against the wall, watching him closely.

"I had _thought_ you would enjoy a room that contained a window more than if I had you placed in one without. Perhaps, if this is how you act when given privileges…" he trailed off as he turned around.

In one hand, he held a tiny gold bracelet, which he fitted around my wrist. Strangely enough, once closed, the clasp disappeared. I found that as small as my hand was, I couldn't slip the bracelet off, though I did try. Something told me that no good would come of this. Dracula watched my futile attempts with a sort of grim satisfaction.

"That will prevent you from trying to escape again, I hope." My eyes flew up to his face in surprise. Where did he get the idea that I'd tried to escape? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glimmer of red.

Aleera.

Of course. She _would _try and make trouble for me. What poisonous lies had she been whispering in his ear? Clearly her only goal was to see me gone, one way or another.

"But I wasn't trying to escape!" I protested. Dracula looked at me dubiously. "I wanted to see the city! Search my mind if you must. You know I'm telling the truth."

"Then where _were_ you going?" his voice was as hard as steel. "You weren't just looking at shops." I hesitated, not sure if it would be a good idea to tell a vampire in this mood that I went to church. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me.

"I can find the answer in your mind if I want, but I'd much rather that you just told me the truth."

I sighed. Staring at the ground like a disobedient child I said, "I went to the church."

"The church." The statement was flat and emotionless, and I squirmed inside. Suddenly, his opinion mattered, though I had no idea why. "I have no use for the church. God has abandoned me and so I have in turn abandoned Him. The church is almost as empty as I."

The tears that had been threatening for some time spilled over. Hearing him speak like this was just shredding me.

"The church is not empty!" I cried, startling Dracula out of his own bitter little world. "You're just too busy feeling sorry for yourself to notice! No one is forsaken!"

But there was a seed of doubt in my mind. The priest had been speaking in general of humanity; I had not confessed to him my situation. What if Dracula was right? The thought of being abandoned filled my insides with dread and turned the blood in my veins to ice. My tears flowed faster.

I had cried so much these past weeks. It was all his fault. Whoever said I needed to have courage obviously didn't know me very well. I hadn't the capacity. I hadn't the strength.

A pair of cold hands slid themselves around my waist.

'_I _will not abandon you,' Dracula's voice whispered in my head. Strangely enough, I believed him, though a tiny voice inside of me wondered at my sudden change of mind. I squashed it and buried my face in his chest, seeking comfort.

'Promise me.' I felt him smile slightly as he placed a small chaste kiss on my forehead.

'I promise.'

…………………………..

I know, I know! It's a really short chappie and I'm really sorry, but there's two reasons for this. The first is that I want to get to All Hallow's before I die of old age and if I keep writing every little side chapter my muse thinks up, I never will. Also, I didn't know where to go with this chap and didn't want to ruin it by forcing it. Actually, three reasons. If I combined this chapter with the next one, it would end up being ridiculously long or something, which would mean longer update-wait time for you guys. Next chapter: All Hallow's (I swear, I swear!) Damn my muse.

****

Whack!

Ow.


	13. All Hallow's

Chapter 13: All Hallow's

AN: OMFG. I'm soooo sorry that I haven't been able to update for over a month. A couple of things besides extreme writer's block have been going on and though that's no excuse for not updating, I have been a busy girl. In chronological order: volleyball pre-season conditioning, week-long marching band, start of school, Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan scare (equals a lot of fleeing the state, with no internet connection! Ack! The horror! The horror!) bleck. But at least that's over and I actually have a plan (gasp) for the next few chapters. I went into this one completely blind, with only the knowledge of where it had to end up. Take my word for it: DON'T DO THIS. You drive yourself CRAZYCRAZYCRAZY. (well, actually, that's not that different from normal me, but….) Enough ranting. On with the FINALLY finished chapter! Kyaaaagh!

* * *

The sun was sinking quickly behind the mountains and a line of shadow was slowly, but surely advancing across the city. I was busy watching the colorful lights of the festivals visible across the river. Some had gone to church, the belief that All Hallows Eve was a night on which evil beings really _did_ 'come out of hiding'. How little they knew. Most however, were participating in the festivals. I really enjoyed watching the dancers. Their costumes were unusual, but very pretty.

The last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon and almost immediately, I saw a pair of winged shapes wheeling in from the north. I sighed. I'd hoped for more time before the vampires started arriving.

There was a knock on my door. It opened and Verona walked in, not at all bothered by the darkness of the interior. She scowled slightly at my form silhouetted in the window.

"You were supposed to be ready by now."

I waved my hand apologetically. " I merely lost track of time Verona. It's not that important. And that was only the first pair." I turned around and lit the lamp. Verona gave an annoyed sigh.

"When will you stop this stubbornness Destiny? It is becoming rather wearisome." She turned and left.

"_You _should just learn to deal with it," I grumbled. But, I didn't want to get in trouble _again_. I made a face at the bracelet. Stupid thing. After five hours, I'd finally found out what the damn thing did.

It didn't let me leave the castle. I'd found out this morning when I'd tried the front door. It was like running into an invisible wall. The effect even extended to the windows. Believe me, I'd tried. The farthest outside it let me was my balcony. That, plus the fact that I _knew_ he tampered with my mind last night, caused me to be rather…pissed with Dracula right now. Going to the ball had been, until Verona's visit, the last thing on my mind.

Opening the wardrobe, I took out the dress I'd made (description in chapter eight) and put it on. To my disappointment, it fit, a little too well for my liking. Damn. I could have used it as an excuse not to go. Oh well. Next came my cross pendant and a simple necklace I found on the vanity, consisting of a small ruby on a golden chain. It consisted of a simple gold chain with a polished oval ruby on the end. On went the scarlet mask, and, running a brush once through my hair, I stepped out into the hallway.

Dracula was waiting for me by the stairway. I glared at him through my mask, even though I knew he wouldn't see it.

"Interesting colors," he remarked, then noticed the cross. "I really don't think you need that." He reached to take it off, but I slapped his hand away and covered the cross.

"Don't melt it," I snapped at him. "It was my mother's." If that bastard dared…

"Indeed." Dracula's lips twisted into a smirk and I suppressed the urge to punch him. Instead, I placed my hand on his forearm and we descended into the mass of color that was the ball. A woman in black was singing at the far end of the hall. I did not need the empty mirrors to tell me that I was surrounded by the damned, that my heart was the only one that beat nervously within my breast.

I let go of his arm when we reached the bottom of the stairs, but he caught my hand, preventing me from heading in the opposite direction. Wrenching my hand free, I glared at him.

"Stop it," I hissed. I was in no mood for his games. Before he could reply, I stalked over to the other end of the hall, where I could watch the singing vampire. She was really good actually.

"Well now, what do we have here?" asked a vampiress in a sly voice. She wore a blue dress so tight I though she'd burst from the seams any moment. If she had had to breathe, that is. I eyed her nervously. Her companions, noting the new object of her interest, glided silently over.

"What's a nice young mortal doing here, I wonder?" She said, the tone of her voice changing from a curious purr to a dry laugh. "You must have a death wish young one."

"Perhaps I just wanted a change of scenery? A different kind of festival?" I suggested, matching her voice for dryness. "But," I gestured to the mirrors, "there seems to be no one here." The corners of her plump lips curved upwards in a small smile.

"Tell me your name small one. It is not often, even in my long existence, that one meets somebody with hair such as yours."

I scowled slightly. "It didn't _used_ to be this color. My name is Destiny."

"As I am Nerilka." Call me crazy, but I liked her. I really did. She seemed different somehow. As if she might not be as out of touch with humanity, though that seemed impossible.

"Nerilka," I asked softly. She looked at me. "You don't have to answer if it offends you or anything, but, do you miss being alive?"

Her face grew solemn and her eyes locked on mine. "Some parts," she replied, a little sadly. "I miss the warmth of the sun. I miss having a family. Mine died many years ago."

"I'm sorry." And I was. "I haven't seen mine for about a month. I miss my mother a lot."

It was then that I felt a presence brush my mind and I groaned, searching the swirling crowd.

"What is the matter?" Nerilka asked.

"Damn it," I muttered, forgetting her sensitive hearing.

"Again, I ask what is wrong." The tone of her voice made me grin momentarily.

"Just the summons of my _keeper_," I scowled. "That I will ignore of course." And I turned away from the ball and crossed my arms.

"Nerilka," Dracula said pleasantly from somewhere behind me and to my left.

"Vladislaus," she acknowledged. Pale fingers wrapped themselves around my arm just above my elbow.

"Enjoying yourself my dear?" He asked. Half turning so that I could see him, I replied coolly, "I _was_." Nerilka watched the exchange with amusement.

"Well," she said. "I will take my leave." She turned and melted into the crowd.

"Why did you have to chase off the first decent, normal conversation I managed to have?" I asked, gesturing dramatically to the spot where Nerilka had been. "Do you get some perverse pleasure out of that? Hmm?" Just for emphasis, I poked him in the chest with one finger. "Is this a _game_ to you?"

"I do not know how to answer," Dracula said as he drew me into the dancers. "You see, that terrifying look you wear upon your face strikes so much fear into me that the words freeze on the tip of my tongue."

"You're making fun," I said reprovingly. I realized that this _was_ a game, for both of us, and was not sure how I felt about that. One hand about my waist, he led me through the swirling steps of the dance. I was amazed that I didn't get dizzy.

"How do you know Nerilka?" I asked, curious.

"Her sire was one of my first fledglings," he replied neutrally. Obviously this was not his preferred topic of discussion at the moment. I looked around and spied a very funny sight in the mirrors that lined the hall. The mirror-hall was empty, save for one slightly confused-looking girl who was revolving by herself like a figurine in a music box. I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"Amused?"

I pointed to the mirror by way of explanation and he smiled.

"Such a lovely couple we make," he deadpanned. I gaped at him for a second and then gave a short laugh.

"You made a joke! I didn't think it was possible!" I said delightedly. He seemed more human at that moment.

"What were your talking to Nerilka about?" Dracula asked in an abrupt change of topic. I stopped dead and pulled away from him with a cold look in my eyes.

"About how you ruined my life." Anger burning in my heart, I turned and swept up the stairs without a backward glance.

He caught up with me as I was standing on a small balcony on the second floor. I stared out at Budapest without looking at him, absorbed in my own thoughts.

"Is this how a vampire feels?" I asked softly, still looking at the city. "Do you feel lonely?"

I heard his light footfalls behind me. "That I cannot answer. I am hollow."

"Yes, you told me that already," I snapped, then shut my mouth, trying to rein in my temper. "I meant, can you remember what it was like to be mortal? Do you ever miss family that is long dead and who you'll never see again?" Dracula remained silent, so I turned around and took a half step back; I hadn't realized he was so close.

"Those who are not yet even born will die before I do. Because of what you are, I don't expect you to be able to comprehend what you did to me. But you don't even try. You hide behind your 'hollowness' like a coward."

Fangs gleamed in the moonlight and my stomach tightened nervously, sensing that I'd finally gone too far.

"Perhaps Aleera is right for once, perhaps I _should_ punish you. You've given me more than enough reason to do so in the past month." Throwing up what mental shields I possessed, I inwardly braced myself for the blow or bite I imagined would follow those harsh words.

"Then do as you will." My voice was even and low. "I told you before that I did not fear you and I do not fear you now. I will not."

Instead of becoming angry, Dracula cupped my cheek in one hand. "And that is why I chose you, little angel. Such courage." He trailed off. I was unnerved by the gleam in his obsidian eyes and tried to back away, but he held me close with his other arm. I wondered idly if he needed to feed. My cross necklace was still around my neck but it would not be much of a deterrent.

'I do not settle for half.' The words reverberated in my mind as he claimed my mouth, piercing my lip so that blood flowed, which he took greedily. Again I tried to break away, but my efforts only irritated him. With a slight growl, he pulled away from my mouth and sunk his fangs into my neck instead.

If you have never had your blood drawn by a vampire, let me inform you that the pulse of your own blood can become very intoxicating, if the vampire so chooses.

Only when I ceased struggling and relaxed, under the pretense of submission, did Dracula stop.

"God, in his mercy, forgives all of us." How I wished the priest's words to be true.

A small part of my mind realized that we were no longer on the balcony.

"Courage, small one, courage."

The memory of those words was comforting and that night, I prayed that God would forgive me my weakness.

* * *

Hmmm, finally some serious DesDrac action. Heh. But don't worry faithful readers! Justice will prevail! (cracks up. I just _had_ to say that.) Really, it'll be okay (hopefully) oh, and those deluded people out there who think that things'll calm down a tad? BZZZZT! Wrong! Rocky as ever (just the way I like it) Oh, and

REVIEW! Or I'll keep writing but won't post for yet another month! I can do that y'know!


	14. Discoveries

Chapter 14: Discoveries

Hee. Lovely lovely little reviews. See what they do to my muse? They make her/it hit me on the head and glue me to the computer keys so that I can get another chapter out, even though right now I'm suppose to be working on my science fair project, my speech, a report on the politics of Tudor England, a color pencil realistically shaded picture showing "Art in the Heart of the Park" (I'm doing Cat In The Hat, gone bad. Real hearts heh), and studying for a test on _The Epic of Gilgamesh_. (Don't read it! For the sake of your sanity, don't!) enough of my rambling.

* * *

Pushing open the coffin lid, I stretched and slipped out the door towards my own room. My bare feet tread silently upon the stone floors of the icy fortress; I had long since gotten used to the cold. 

Upon reaching my room, I opened the window to let in the last remaining rays of sunlight that managed to peep over the forbidding mountains. I usually tried to wake before Dracula did in order to catch some glimpse of the sun, which I rarely got out into now.

After dressing, I picked up the length of cloth that I was embroidering on to keep myself occupied. Even though no one would ever see it, it gave me a small degree of satisfaction to see my story laid out in neat, colorful stitches. It was nearly done. Well, that was natural, seeing as I'd been working on it for a little over three months, ever since we returned from Budapest.

At least, I think it was three months. Time was a slippery thing in this place, which by my count I'd spent for blasted long months in.

In my anger, I accidentally stabbed myself with the needle. It brought a drop of blood to the surface, which I quickly wiped away. Rule number one: never display blood. Period.

However, when I removed the handkerchief, there was no trace of red on its white linen surface. Puzzled, I examined my finger closely, but could find no trace of the puncture wound. Maybe there would be something in one of the libraries (there were two) that could explain vanishing injuries.

I liked the smaller of the two libraries better, not because it was closer to my room, but because it had a closer, warmer feel to it. There was only one window, the ceiling wasn't as high and vaulted, and there was an extremely comfortable armchair right next to the fireplace.

After laboriously combing through the shelves, my eyes landed on a book titled _Ethereal Beings_. That looked promising and I took it back to the armchair, but not before opening the window to let some air in. The night was finally clear and after a four-day ice storm I was nearly going crazy from confinement.

The book was written in an old formal style, full of loops and flourishes. It was slow going at first, but I got the hang of it before long. After going through fairies, shades, ghosts, and elemental spirits, I found a passage on angels.

Angels are widely considered to be the most reclusive of the ethereal beings, second only to shades. Since their natural habitat, as one might call it, is in another plane, it is near impossible to study them from a distance as one might a fairy or sprite. Thus, what is known about them is gathered second-hand from eyewitnesses who have encountered one.

The common angel is most often found in the service of the Lord, where it carries out such philanthropic activities as guardianship of marked humans, delivering answers to prayers, and healing the sick or wounded. They also serve as guides for the souls of deceased humans, guiding them to heaven. An angel's healing is most often carried out invisible or masked by blinding light, but one theory is that the angel transfers a small amount of its own blood to the afflicted person, thus healing them. These actions are made possible by the ability of angels to heal themselves extremely quickly –

That would explain it. I rose stiffly from the chair and hissed as feeling returned to my legs, which had long since become numb. The air inside the library was freezing cold now. Putting the book away I left the library, intending to get something to eat. Suddenly though, the thought of food made me slightly nauseous. And I was a little dizzy.

Great. The last thing I needed was to get sick. Next time, I'd leave the window shut.

I was halfway back to my room when I heard it, a strange noise echoing faintly off the fortress's stone walls. At first I wasn't sure if I'd really heard anything, but, straining my ears, I heard it again. The cry sounded nearly human, but I couldn't be sure from so far away. I'd have to find out where it was coming from.

Slowly, quietly, I prowled the upper levels of Dracula's castle, but could find no trace of anything. So I went lower, making my way down towards the entrance level.

Nothing on any of those floors either. But the sound was definitely getting louder, though it was still fairly faint. I wasn't even entirely sure it _was_ human. There was something animalistic about the quality of the sound.

Frustrated, I sat down on the steps leading out of the entrance hall and tried to think if there was anywhere I might have missed. Surely in someplace this large I wouldn't know about all the rooms, right? There was something familiar about the sound. I think I had heard it a couple times before.

Hmm. I could remember, vaguely, seeing a couple Dwergi enter a room and pass through a dark entrance. Perhaps that was it. I took the left passage from the hall, down a flight of steps, and headed down the second corridor on the right. There was a door at the end, which I was sure led to the room I'd seen before.

The wooden door stuck slightly and was heavy, but after a few minutes I managed to get it open. It opened upon a small stone room, bare save for a weapon's rack and a few burning wall sconces. But no sign of the passage that the Dwergi had taken.

I bit my lip and felt the walls for any unusual cracks, but the old stones make the task difficult. To aid my search, I picked up a light from one of the wall sconces. There was a grating sound and a cunningly concealed door covered in stone swung inward to reveal a darkened set of stairs. Replacing the light, I slid inside.

It was very dark in the passageway, but luckily it was short. Nothing however, could prepare me for the sight that met my icy eyes.

It was a large room, stone, very dreary and ominous, made more so by the weapons stacked or hung every where. Dwergi were everywhere, attending to various torture devices. You didn't have to be smart to recognize those. One was cleaning up a pool that glistened reddish-black in the torchlight.

Blood.

I shuddered and averted my eyes. A large steel cage sat in one corner of the room. It was bolted to the stone walls and inside it was the slumped figure of a man, held in a sitting position only by the chains that fastened his arms above his head.

In my haste to reach the cage, I didn't notice the other occupant of the room until a cracked voice stopped me just feet away from the cage.

"Miss should no' be in here." I spun around to face a hunched over man, if that's what you could call him. His hair lay faded and thin upon a bony skull, his limbs were gnarled and twisted, causing him to limp, and where his left eye should have been, there was only a mass of scar tissue. He laughed nastily. " 'S not a good place fer ladies."

He spat upon the ground and clutched the metal prod in his hands. Before I could reply, he turned and shuffled off, muttering to himself, "But 'oo ever lissens te Homeros?"

It did not seem like Homeros cared whether I was in the room or not, so I returned my attention to the man in the cage, who was looking at me with empty brown eyes.

"Come to torture me too? You're one of his, course you are."

"I beg your pardon? Um, I'm not here to torture you sir." This caused him to raise his eyebrows slightly.

"I promise. Why are they doing this to you?" I knelt, concern etched upon my face. "Please, is there some way I can help you?" The man looked at me quizzically.

"You're not a vampire, are you." It was more statement than question. I shook my head.

"No, I'm not. My name is Destiny." I lowered my voice. "Tell me how to help you." He laughed humorlessly.

"You can't help me. 'Sides, no one would aid a werewolf." My eyes widened, but I did not shrink away.

"I can try to free you," I whispered. "You shouldn't be trapped here as I am. Tell me how." He strained at his bonds.

"It's not safe, you here me? It's not safe. I'd kill people, I'd eat them. I'm a monster!" he hissed, then paused as if he'd remembered something. His next words came out in a hurried whisper, as if he were afraid. "Wait! Dracula…he has a cure…for werewolves…if you find the cure –" He broke off, looking at something. Belatedly, I felt it to.

"Destiny!" Dracula snapped. "Get away from the Lycan."

Rising and turning, I spotted him at the room's entrance. The blue in his eyes did not herald anything good, for either me or the werewolf in the cage behind me. Moving with that supernatural speed of his that really irked me, he was down among the torture devices in a second.

"How could you do this to him," I cried, flinging an arm towards the cage. "Have you no decency at all!? Have you no shred of guilt in that dead heart of yours for what you've done to him!?"  
"No, I do not! He is in my service! And you should not be down here!" Dracula bellowed back. My lips were pressed so tightly together that they were almost a solid white line.

"Well, you never forbade me to come in here! And since when do you have the right to control my every movement?" I demanded, furious.

"When you carry my children!"

Within the space of about a second, there was no blood left in my face. My ears roared, my breath caught in my throat, and I fumbled behind me for a hold on the cage bars. They were the only things keeping my upright right now, as all the strength had left my knees.

"How long?" I asked Dracula tersely, trying to keep from screaming. He didn't answer.

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN!!!???"

* * *

I love this chapter, and the next one's going to be soooooo dramatic. But if at least 5 to 10 people don't review, I won't post, so there. : P munches on cookies 


	15. Tourniquet

Chapter 15: Torniquet

AN: (pant pant) I didn't expect for so many people to review in such a short time. What, d'ya think I'm some sort of writer person? Some sort of miracle writer? (laughing) I feel sooooooo loved, so again, at least 10 reviews…or else. And trust me, you…well, you'll see. (evil laughter now)

(does hurricane dance, singing off-key to the tune of 'rain rain go away') Hurricane, Hurricane/ Come come come on Sunday/ Little Insanity want to play/ And not go to school on Monday. ; not a great wish I know, but if you're up to your eyeballs in schoolwork and projects…yeah. And if it does come and I don't update soon, it's cause I lost power, not cause I've forgotten you guys.

This is my first ever songfic, so please, don't be too harsh if I screwed it up okay? Italics are the lyrics (song is Tourniquet, by Evanescence)

Kay, I'm not one for shout outs and such but just this once, since some people had specific questions:

Morriquinne Dracula: thanks tons for the pic. You were right, I loved it.

melamin venea: don't worry, this is PVE (Pre Velkan Era)

and for anyone who was confused in the last chapter about the whole pregnancy thing, Destiny didn't know yet, but she knew something was wrong and would have figured it out within a few days. As for the vampires, I added an explanation in this chappie.

Again, 10 reviews…or else (foreboding music)

* * *

The moon was rising above the mountains, shedding pale shafts of light streaming through the cloud cover. The cold beauty of it all was lost upon me as I stared dully through the window.

For two days I had neither eaten nor slept. Many things made sense now. Why I had felt nauseous, why I experienced lingering cramps, among other things. And now I carried life inside of me.

I tried to kill the pain

But only brought more

Four, to be exact. As soon as their hearts had developed enough to start beating, Verona had told me. Four monstrosities to be unleashed upon the world, fours pawns for evil forces to use at their will.

I rose and drifted towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Verona had kept me in sight for two days straight, forbidding me to fly, restricting me indoors lest I fall ill. I was being treated like a piece of glass, like I might shatter at any moment.

I lay dying

And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal

And I wasn't sure I could stand it much longer.

Without turning, I said, "I'm going to get something to eat." I sensed Verona's smile.

"Finally. In another day I would have had to force you to. You would waste away otherwise." For once, she did not follow. Well, that made things a bit easier.

I actually did eat something, but that was not my main purpose for leaving. That could be found on any of the weapon racks that decorated the fortress. Picking up a slim dagger, I decided that it would serve adequately enough and stole away to the lesser library, as I called it.

"No matter what my feelings," I whispered, holding the keen silver edge of the blade lightly against the material of my gown. "I cannot let them live. It is my duty."

I'm dying praying bleeding and screaming

Am I too lost to be saved

One pearly tear slipped down my cheek as I gripped the dagger with both hands and held it facing my stomach. But I could not find the strength to force it in. I stood there for what seemed like hours, unable to carry out my task, but unable to relinquish it either. There had to be another way.

Am I too lost?

The dagger clattered to the floor and my gaze turned to the shelves of books lining the walls. If the answer were to be found, I would find it here.

For hours, I poured over heavy tombs, musty and covered in dust. I'd never imagined there to be so many curses available in the world. And then when those yielded no results, I turned to demons. There had to be something, there just had to be.

My God my tourniquet

Return to me salvation

An hour before dawn, all of the books save one were put back on the shelves, and I was having a hard time concentrating on the page before me. I realized after a few minutes that I'd been reading the same sentence over and over again. All I managed to do was close the book before my eyelids drooped and I fell asleep with one cheek resting in the book's cover.

I awoke, to the total darkness only achieved by a coffin, lying content and relaxed in the circle of Dracula's arms with one of his cold hands resting on my stomach. As usual, I was torn between several emotions, as always happened when we were together.

_Do you remember me_

Lost for so long

Irritation at his possessiveness.

Guilt that this relationship occurred in the first place.

But there was undoubtedly fondness there too, and gratitude that I was still alive. It was a strange situation, taxing, conflicting, confusing, but I did feel cared for. I turned towards him, sighing, torn about what I was planning to do. There was so much that could go wrong. I would only get one chance at this.

Will you be on the other side

Or will you forget me

It was a few hours before sunset when I was able to slip away into the library again and find the book I'd been reading. Scanning the conjuring ritual, I double-checked the ingredients that I had brought with me. Even the rarer ones hadn't been too hard to find. You never knew what you'd stumble across in a vampire's "pantry".

Nightshade, check. Black volcanic ash, check. Wormwood, one red candle, bearog claw, all assembled for the task.

Preparing the ritual to summon the demon was slow going. I kept jumping at every noise I heard from the hall outside. Noise, stop, wait, start, noise, stop, wait, etc. By the time I was nearly done, the false alarms and the fear of discovery had frazzled my nerves beyond belief.

I'm dying praying bleeding and screaming

Am I too lost to be saved

I'd considered just asking Aleera to bit me, which she'd probably have been all too happy to do, but there was too much risk involved. Being Aleera, she might have refused just to deny me something I wanted.

Or told Dracula.

Or not taken enough blood.

Am I too lost?

Yes, Aleera was too dangerous to try, and it wasn't even worth asking Verona or Marishka. This was safer.

The final stage required blood to be dripped onto the candle. This particular brand of demon, like vampires, drained its victim of blood, so you needed the blood of the intended to lure it to you.

My God my tourniquet

Return to me salvation

A bit of an inconvenience for normal vengeance summoning, but easy enough now. I had picked it because it always injected its venom into the victim first, causing them to go into a comatose state.

It wouldn't hurt…much.

My God my tourniquet

Return to me salvation

As red blood mixed with flame and red wax, I felt a brief moment of panic, during which time I almost abandoned my act. But after a second or two, it was too late because the blood had been absorbed. Now all there was left to do was to wait.

My wounds cry for the grave

My soul cries for deliverance

Thirty seconds later, black smoke filled the room and materialized into a wraith-like demon with claws, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and red eyes. It paused at the sight of me standing in right in front it, not running away, not screaming or pleading for my life. Maybe I confused it, not making it have to hunt for its victim.

Will I be denied Christ

"_What issss it you ssssseeek, mortal?_" it hissed, fixing its ember-like eyes on me. I spread my hands and closed my eyes, willing myself for the hundredth time not to lose my nerve. My voice, when I spoke, was surprisingly calm and even.

"What you do best, demon. Death."

Tourniquet

Apparently satisfied that I wasn't going to run or be difficult, it flew forward and clamped its venomous fangs down on my arm in a vise-like bite. My eyes opened, but the room had grown dark. Strangely at peace with myself, I closed them again and let the dark fog overtake me, allowing myself to sink down into the final sleep.

_My suicide._

_

* * *

_

"……………."


	16. Revelations

Chapter 16: Revelations

AN: I'm back! I'm not dead! AND MY PROJECTS ARE FINISHED! Done! Complete! Terminated! Graded and turned in! HAHAHAHAHA hysterical laughter

Cough um….yeah So, if you hadn't guessed, the overload of projects is done. I'm extremely sorry I didn't update sooner. throws self on ground Forgive me O Readers of Mine! Forgive me! And thank you for so faithfully reviewing!!!!!!!

Okay, about this chapter:

person called aleera: yes, I added an Aleera/Destiny scene in here just for you.

crackpot joe: yes, I will make this into a story quiz on it may take some

time, what with having to change the whole damn thing to second person. But I'll try to make it happen. And your bunnies do not hurt me! Now, badgers, that's another story.

To all of you who thought Destiny was dead: hahahahahahaha! She's NOT! I loved reading your reviews, they provided me with MUCH amusement. Kekeke I love making painful cliffhangers

Works coming in the future: The Hand of Fate (sequel), and I'm trying to write my own book series in a world that I made up. But that won't happen for a while. If I ever want to think about getting it published, I need to be careful with it and not rush it.

If you guys have any ideas of what you'd like to see in a sequel, send them to me via review or email: ) the sequel will be called The Hand of Fate and will take place about 20 years after this one

Ps: I have no idea where the hell I get my inspiration. Most of my ideas come to me when I'm trying to get to sleep. (that might explain a LOT)

* * *

My first semi-lucid thought was that I was floating. I was not quite alive but neither was I dead. For who knows how long, I simply existed in a hazy world of nothingness and pain. Sometimes, I fancied that I heard voices. At other times, I could almost make out distinct shapes. But, I could never hold on to any consciousness that I may have had for long and I would inevitably slide back into the well between Life and Death.

Opening my eyes, I first thought that I was still in that awful between state. It was dark and cold, full of shadow. Gradually, I was able to discern the familiar shapes of the furniture in my room and the drapes over my window. Relief bubbled up in my brain that I was no longer trapped in the well. That was all I had time to gather before a wave of pain swamped me, sending fire up every nerve in my body and nearly causing me to black out again.

I managed, after several attempts, to sit up. Something was not right in my room, but I didn't know what. The drapes, as I pushed them back, seemed heavier than usual. In fact, every movement was harder and required more energy to carry out. An after-effect of the demon's poison perhaps?

Which hadn't even worked! I was torn between anger that all that work had been for nothing, relief that I was alive, and pain/guilt/sorrow that I wasn't dead. The warring emotions caused my head to pound, but a the sharp nail of someone's finger at the base of my skull and another one pressing into my jugular veil distracted me quite effectively.

"Ow," I said to whoever was behind me. Three guesses as to who that was. Literally.

"I still fail to see how such an insignificant, pathetic figure like you could hold such sway over my Master," Aleera purred into my ear, using the tone I'd come to identify as Aleera at her worst.

Great.

"You have caused so much havoc, yet he lets you live." She was circling me now, and I stood as still as possible. "I find it odd that a jaamini demon could find its way here without help."

Silence was the best policy.

A finger tilted my chin and I just barely managed to match her gleaming purple eyes without flinching. She couldn't kill me without risking her own death I knew, but knowing Aleera, she could come up with many things worse than death itself without a problem.

Even as it was, I was unprepared when she struck me hard across the face, knocking me to the ground. Her nails raked across my cheek, leaving four bleeding furrows in their wake.

"You don't deserve the leniency that you have enjoyed thus far," she spat, dragging me upright again. Hissing slightly, she licked the blood that was flowing from the wounds, savoring it. "And you certainly aren't deserving of carrying my Master's seed."

Unconsciously, one hand rose to protect my stomach. I knew that Aleera was most likely, well, let's say _certainly_ jealous and was enjoying taking her anger out on me while punishing me for trying to kill myself at the same time.

"I certainly did not ask for it," I shot back, and then clamped my mouth shut in dismay at those ill-timed words. Aleera's hand locked around my throat. "Yet you seemed perfectly willing to go along with it," she hissed.

Abruptly, she let me threw me to the floor for the second time and was gone before I landed. I stared at the door, wondering what other forms of punishment I should expect should I venture out of my room. I shuddered. Aleera: crazy but vicious, with a vengeance streak a mile wide.

Doing what I could about the blood on my face, I left my room, hoping that the wounds would heal before anybody noticed.

Through the windows, I noticed that snow was falling, gently, for the first time in many days. Save for the occasional Dwerger I ran into nobody while making my way down countless flights of stairs and through the front hall to the outside.

The icy air momentarily took my breath away and I waited a moment for my body to acclimate itself to the outside before wading through the ankle high snow. Along the castle walls and especially in the nooks and corners, the wind had blown the snow into glistening white mounds. The temptation was too much to resist.

Ten minutes later I was poking eyeholes into the face of a round snowman. Loose pieces of stone made fitting eyes and a nose for him, and I used my thumb to carve a smiling trench mouth below the nose.

Standing back to admire my handiwork, I noticed a stone pillar and what appeared to be a mirror on a rocky ledge. Funny I had not noticed them before. My curiosity piqued, I trudged over to investigate.

It _was_ a mirror. Running my hands over its surface, I discovered that it bent slightly under my touch and was not cold, as I had expected, but rather warm as if it were inside.

Which was a ridiculous thought, since it was currently stationed in the middle of the mountains over an abyss. In the stone frame that encircled it, I found a tiny carved message. Though some of the words were chipped and others worn away, I could make out the name "Valerious" and the words "gateway" and "banishment".

I knew deep within my bones that there was much more to this mirror, if that's what it really was, than meets the eye. Perhaps, there was even a way to use it to help the werewolf escape. I had not forgotten about him, locked down in that awful cell.

Flopping down on my back in the soft white powder, I lay spread-eagle with closed eyes, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. Things were now in motion that could not be undone (a.n.: LOTR rocks!). Slowly, I swished my arms and legs through the snow, back and forth, back and forth, in wide arches.

Without even opening my eyes, I knew _he_ was watching me. Not being able to stand the tense silence much longer, I stopped swishing the snow around and spoke.

"I know you're there, so you can stop skulking in the doorway."

"I'm not in the doorway." The answering voice was much closer than I had estimated and I twitched in surprise. Opening my eyes, I saw him standing a couple feet away. "And I'm not 'skulking', as you put it." Careful not to smudge my work, I stood up.

"It's a snow angel," I said, motioning to the indentation I'd made in the snow. He ignored the statement. It was times like this that I wished I could read _his_ mind. Would give me some warning once and a while.

"You tried to kill yourself." Again, I couldn't tell from his guarded tone whether he was on the verge of exploding at me or not.

"I was upset." Boy was that putting it lightly.

"You summoned a _demon_."

"I considered asking Aleera to bite me," I offered unhelpfully.

"I would have found out."

"Yes, you would have, so that's why I didn't ask." I tried to brush snow off my dress, before it got even wetter than it already was and I turned into an icicle.

"You stopped the demon, didn't you." It was more statement than question. "Why couldn't you have just let it be?"

The count sighed, exasperated. "Because it would have killed you. I believe we've already established this fact." His tone was unusually guarded, even for him.

"Yes, but _why_?" I pressed. "You're not answering the question and you know it. _Why_?" I ran a hand through my hair in annoyance.

Instead of answering the question however, Dracula frowned and brushed the hair away from the left side of my face. My hand flew up to cover the claw marks. I'd forgotten they were still there. Apparently vampire wounds didn't heal as fast as I would like.

"Did you do that?" he growled softly. Removing my hand, he inspected the wounds. At least they'd stopped bleeding, mostly.

"No." I shrugged slightly. "It doesn't hurt anymore though." I was lying.

"You are lying Destiny. It hurts, you're wet, and if you stay out here any longer, you'll get sick. And _that_ I will not stand for." I rolled my eyes slightly as Dracula led me inside.

"Rules, rules, rules. God forbid you're actually _worried_ about me." My voice was heavily laced with sarcasm

"I have reason! If you did not inflict that upon yourself, then who did?" When I did not answer, he spun me around to face him and gripped my shoulders tightly. There was no need for Dracula to say anything aloud; the black look on his face was enough.

'Aleera' I said mentally. She couldn't prove I told him if no one heard. 'But it's fine, it's fine. They're healing anyway. Now if you'll excuse me." I tried to leave, but he locked his cold fingers on my shoulders and refused to let me go.

"Do I need to re-teach you the meaning of obedience?" he hissed. "I have put up with your nonsense for far too long Destiny. Don't expect any in the future after this stunt you pulled."

The tension between us scorched the surrounding air.

"Don't worry," I spat back, "I never expected any humanity from a monster in the first place."

That did it. Dracula's eyes changed to electric blue before I could even blink and he sunk his fangs in to my neck, sucking greedily. I struggled hard, trying to get away.

"I hope you realize you're killing the only live children you have!" I yelled at him. He stopped for a split second. That was all the time I needed to slip out of his hold and when I did, I slapped him.

"Bastard! Do that again and I'll launch myself off a cliff, I swear. Or fall upon the first sharp thing I see. We have quite a lot of swords around here!" I felt my face burning in fury. "DO you understand me? Never feed off me again!" With that, I turned tail and fled, too upset to realize that I was not being pursued.

I raced up the stairs, blinded by the tears I was attempting to withhold. When I stopped finally to catch my breath, I realized that I was in yet another unfamiliar part of the castle.

Great. You think you finally have everything on a nice neat little map and low and behold, you find someplace new. But my damnably strong curiosity was piqued and so I set off up a narrow flight of stone steps. Why would there be a tower with only steps in it? There had to be a room at the top.

There was. It was medium sized but completely bare save for two things: the torches on the wall and a strange sphere that held a syringe full of red liquid.

"That's odd," I said aloud. Why would Dracula go through all the work of building a tower for the sole purpose of housing a needle? It didn't make any sense. What was he so afraid of that he didn't want it to be found? Was he protecting it from damage?

The syringe glowed a luminous red and hung suspended in a translucent globe. It seemed to beckon one to attempt to take it. This was too easy, much too easy. Why go through all the effort of hiding it if there were virtually no guards around it.

Hesitantly, I touched the surface of the globe with one finger, but recoiled instantly with a small cry. Examining my finger, which was smarting, I found the tip to be red and blistered, like an acid burn.

"Damn," I muttered under my breath. Now how would I get it? In my mind, I was beginning to formulate an idea of what it might be. Given my research, the location, and the werewolf in the cage….

Tucking my hand inside my sleeve, I pushed the globe off the pedestal. It shattered on the stone, sending liquid everywhere. Miraculously, none hit me. Damn I was such an idiot. Hand still covered by my sleeve, I picked the syringe up and tucked it in inside my pocket. That was one half of the plan. The other was how to get him out of here.

Which meant more research, which I was getting more than a little sick of by now. No one told me anything useful so I had to always find it out myself. The syringe I hid in my super-secret-special spot and not a moment too soon. Just as I got to my room and hid it, Verona entered.

For a while, we stood and just looked at each other in silence, not sure how to talk to one another. Her eyes were dark and sad and I felt my heart twist in guilt. Aleera, Marishka, even Dracula, I could care less what they felt (most of the time), but not Verona. Not her.

"Are you going to yell at me too?" I whispered. Verona sighed.

"I am not going to ask why you did it. And I will not ask how you found that particular spell." Her voice was low and calm. "But you almost destroyed all our plans, all our – all _my_ – hopes." I bit my lower lip.

"He was very worried you know."

I looked up at her questioningly.

"Vladislous. He does care about you. He would not even leave the castle to hunt while you were recovering." She studied the look on my face. "You do not believe me, but he does." She rose and left.

I cried for a long time afterwards, thinking of what she said and how I was going to betray them all.

That after noon, when all the vampires were asleep, I went down to the torture chamber. It was mercifully empty. Crouching next to the cage, I whispered,

"I know how to help you escape.


	17. Escapes and Escapees

Chapter 17: Escapes and Escapees

AN: Lalalalalalalalala singing random, off-key notes Speeches are done! Projects per subject down to one! Now I have time to write, and I won't have to stay up 'til the dead of night. Lalalalalalala. Basically what that means is that I'm finally done with my speech, did well on it, and only have two projects, one of which is winding down. And the other, a surreal eye drawing of a snake that forms the pupil and iris of an eye, is fun and doesn't really count as a project.

If you guys are interested in seeing a picture or two of Destiny, what she looks like and all, just email me and I'll mail a few to you. My address is:

artfulmoonlight

Okay, now for some IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

I need you guys to review and tell me whether or not you want the sequel's timeline to overlap with the movie's or not! I cannot write the next chapter if people don't tell me!!!!!!!! And I know you guys want the next chapter ASAP, so vote on it already!

Also, I need you guys to tell me what you would like to see in a sequel, set 20 years in the future from this story. I'm trying to let you guys have input, but I can't do that unless you guys give it! Therefore:

__

I am not updating until I get fifteen people's votes on the timeline! Yes, I'm talking to YOU! So let me know already!

* * *

The only drawback to the plan was that in order to successfully carry it out, we would need to wait until the full moon and Sven's next transformation. And the next full moon was nearly a month away. Other than that, the plan was ready to be put in to motion, but I was still extremely nervous as to whether or not it would work. So much depended on outside factors.

Would the vampires go hunting that night?

Could we trick Homeros into doing what was needed?

Would our theory about the antidote prove correct?

Would my acting fool Dracula?

So much could go wrong, but I could not dwell on the possibility or else we would fail before we even began. The worries were buried deep within me, where not even Dracula would be able to find them.

It was late evening and I was in the library, my usual haunt, reading up on anything relating to the Valerious family. There was not much in the library and based on his lineage, I privately suspected that Dracula had had most of the texts burned (or dropped down a deep crevice). My time on that topic was also limited by when I thought I wouldn't fall victim to an untimely vampiric interruption.

After the post-demon incident, I had avoided Dracula as much as possible and had not spoken to him for a week. I had originally intended to keep the silent treatment going for a lot longer, but I realized that obvious ill feelings would make me that much more of a suspect in the coming escape. The only possible bright side to this dark period was that though my waist slowly began to thicken, my nausea finally passed, which was a huge relief.

The book I was currently curled around was one I had just randomly plucked off of a high shelf. It was a book on cultural development around the world and was actually turning out to be relatively interesting. Even without the hairs on the back of my neck prickling though, I sensed I was being watched. Putting the book down on the table, I stood up and looked around the room. No one was there.

So I looked up, and spotted the count hanging upside-down from the ceiling. Now was as good a time as ever to end the silent treatment. I planted my hands on my hips, not looking down, though I was getting a crick in my neck. The ceiling was fairly high up, remember.

"Would you come down Vladislaus? You're making me dizzy." This elicited a chuckle from him and before I could blink, he was gone from his perch. Unsure of where he had gone to, I took a cautious step back and collided with his chest.

"So, you are speaking to me now, are you?" His breath ruffled my hair slightly and he snaked his arms around my waist. (AN: vampires don't need air to survive, but you _do_ need it to speak!) I leaned back, smiling wryly.

"As a general rule, humans aren't really able to stand going for so long without conversation, and that includes me as well." He planted several kisses along my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. I could not deny the hold he still had over my emotions.

"No biting," I warned, and felt him smirk against my skin.

"Or you would slap me again, hmm?" Dracula turned me around so that I was facing him, our faces only inches apart.

"Sorry for slapping you like that," I whispered, color rising in my cheeks in embarrassment. Resting my hands on his shoulders, I leaned up and kissed him softly.

But what I had intended as a brief apology, he turned into a passionate power-struggle. That morning, I returned to his coffin for the first time in a week. (AN: Not that way!!! She's already pregnant for Christ's sake! Get your nasty ass minds out of the gutter, geez!) (sorry about the language ; )

2 weeks later

I watched as Dracula and the brides winged their way off away from the castle. They were heading out to feed and fortunately, it had fallen on the night of the full moon. As soon as they disappeared from sight, I left the window and hurried to my room to retrieve the antidote. The clock was ticking and we had an hour or so at best. We would get only one shot at this and things had to move like clockwork.

Antidote in hand, I hurried down to the torture chamber. Luckily, there were only a few of the Dwerger in there and Homeros was puttering around in a corner somewhere. Snarling sounds met my ears and my eyes snapped to the cage, which held not Sven the man, but the werewolf that was his second form. Frightened, I kept my distance and prayed to whoever might be listening that the moon would be covered soon.

As if in answer, Sven's antics subsided as he began to convulse and shed his wolf form. Once he was human again, I knelt in the shadows by his cage.

"Do you remember what you must do?" I whispered hurriedly.

"Yes," he replied, just a quiet and anxious as I.

"Good. And remember there can be absolutely no witnesses. At all." He nodded. Casting a wary eye about, I drew the antidote out of my sleeve. Sven stuck his arm through the bar and I injected a small amount of the red liquid into his vein. Stage one, done.

Now I could only hope that it was enough to keep his mind human during his next transformation, which would begin in about a minute. The clouds, from what I could see through the small window, were drawing away from the moon. I could not remain by the cage for any longer.

"Wot are ye doin' here?" Homeros had noticed me. Drawing a deep breath, I turned to face him, my face a mask of dignified disdain.

"If you must know, I came down to watch you torture this beast. Honestly, I do not understand why he is allowed to live." If I could keep him occupied for long enough –

CRASH.

I threw myself against the wall as Sven burst through the cage bars, which he'd been weakening with a small file I had smuggled to him. I watched in horrified fascination as he pounced on Homeros, enacting revenge on his second worst tormentor. Squeezing my eyes tight, I tried to block the sight of his body being torn limb from limb.

But not even with my fingers in my ears could I deafen my self to the agonized screams of Homeros as he lay dying in an ever-growing pool of his own blood. Nor could I ignore the frightened squeals of the Dwergi as they too were systematically hunted down and obliterated. It was primitive but effective justice for the wrongs that Sven had endured.

Only when all was quiet did I dare open my eyes, but promptly shut them, unprepared for the gory scene that I had had a hand in creating. A wet nose butted against my neck and I looked up at Sven, standing next to me, waiting. Smiling, I started to pull out the rest of the antidote, but he shook his furry head and turned to bound up the stairs. Puzzled, I followed.

When we reached the Great Hall, he turned and suddenly, lashed out at me with his claws. The force of the blow knocked me into a stone pillar, where I cracked my head on the stone. With a scream, I plunged the rest of the antidote into his system, thinking he had lost control of himself.

Sven plucked the needle out of his skin as he shrunk back to human form for the last time. He looked over at where I stood, clutching a bleeding shoulder.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"Well, now you won't be suspected of devising my escape." Surprised, I looked down at my shoulder again. What he said made sense. If it looked like I had been caught unawares and injured by the escaping werewolf, then there would be less of a chance that I would be suspected of devising the whole scheme. Which gave me an idea.

"Okay," I told him. "Run as fast as you can outside. You'll see a stone monolith attached to a mirror. Run straight at it, do you here me? Run _through_ the mirror. Since you are no longer tainted by Dracula or under his control, it will allow you to pass through. On the other side if the Valerious family castle. They will help you from there. They have pledged themselves to destroying Dracula. Trust me. No go! Dracula will know you have gone!"

"Thank you Destiny," he said simply. And without a backward glance, he was gone.

"Godspeed," I whispered. It was up to me from here.

'Vladislaus!" I injected fear and pain in to my mental voice and almost instantaneously, felt his mental touch in return.

'The werewolf has escaped!' There was no denying the fury that blazed out across the miles, and I was extremely glad it wasn't directed at me.

'Stay where you are."

'I will, I can't move easily anyway.'

When I was sure he wasn't listening anymore, I raced backed down to the lab where I left the antidote syringe near one of Homeros's limbs. Returning to the main hall, I collapsed against a pillar. After my stupid little evidence cover-up dash with a bump on the head, I felt dizzy.

Reaching back, I gingerly touched the back of my head, which was tacky with blood. My hand came away red. I tore a strip from my skirt and wrapped it around my blood-soaked sleeve. Sven had done a little _too_ good of a job with that. The only consolation, besides the fact that Sven had escaped, was that I would probably be healed by tomorrow evening.

The front doors were still open, and within a few minutes, I could hear the sounds of wings and the screeches of the brides. As they soared in to the hall, I struggled to my feet, shaking off the lingering dizziness. Verona was the first to spot me and hurried over, her dress billowing gracefully out behind her as Dracula stormed down to see what had happened in the lab.

"My dear, what happened? Vladislaus would not tell us much." She asked, concern etched upon her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aleera shoot a disgusted glare my way before disappearing up a staircase.

"The werewolf escaped. I don't know how," I lied when she opened her mouth to ask. "I was heading get something to eat when I heard a commotion down here. As I got into the hall, I saw the werewolf come charging out of the lab over there." I pointed down the hall where the lab was situated.

"He attacked me, but I think that's only because I was in his way, because he didn't use his teeth. It was like he could think or something." I feigned confusion on that point. "He headed out the door and that's all I know." Looking down the hall at the lab, I said worriedly, "Will he be mad?"

Verona had no chance to answer, because at that point, Dracula came storming back out of the lab.

"VERONA! MARISHKA! ALEERA!" he bellowed. Even Aleera hauled her ass downstairs pretty fast.

"Find the werewolf," he hissed, eyes blue. The brides nodded and, shifting to their demonic forms, took off again. Dracula turned to me, but his anger dissipated as he noticed the blood.

"Did the werewolf bite you Destiny?" He asked, unusually worried. I knew he was concerned for the effect of possible venom to his offspring (I couldn't yet bring myself to call them children).

"Don't worry so," I assured him. "It's just a scratch." Very big scratch yes, but still. "Give it a day or so. I'll be fine. Now, I've got to go lie down." With one hand on the back of my head, I walked towards the stairs that led to my room.

"No, my angel. Did I not tell to stay put?" He picked me up bridal style and, cradling me against his chest, carried me up to my room.

"I'm getting blood on your shirt." I pointed out offhandedly. "Hope you don't mind."

"What do I care about a little blood, hmm?"

"Point."

I allowed myself to drift off into sleep, confident that they would not find Sven and happy in the thought that I was next.

* * *

Okay, remember what I said. No updates until you guys get back to me on your preferred timeline (and don't worry, it wouldn't be a "movie-plot-with-some-different-characters" fic. There are way too many of those already) Let me know! Thanks!

(Psst! Cookies to those who vote!)


	18. My Turn

Chapter 18: My Turn

AN: Here you are my lovelies! The next installment that, according to many of you, I needed to put up…and fast! (kekeke) Here are the results of the timeline vote: an overwhelming majority of you voted NO on the movie timeline, mostly because you think I shouldn't wreck my awesome story with a movie overlap (sniff. I love you guys). Fine by me cause it allows me a lot more freedom with my writing. Here are cookies to all of you who voted and sent me reviews. (sprays many cookies into the air)

Remember: send me ideas if you'd like to see something particular in the sequel. Thanks!

And, has anyone else every wondered why Dracula wears those gold hoop earrings? Where'd he get them? I stuck my hypothesis in the story. (heehee)

Oh, and CrackpotJoe? Love the bunny you snuck into my backpack (thought I wouldn't notice huh? You forget, I'm the writer. I hear all. I see all. )

PS: I got a 97 on my speech and might be going to the school speech contest (where they give cash prizes) WEEE!

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Midnight cloaked the mountains in shadow. I knew that in villages all over Romania, every person would be sleeping soundly in their beds after a hard day's work. Six months ago, that would have been me.

I propped my elbows up on the windowsill and rested my chin on them, smiling at the irony of it all. Six months seemed like too short a time for so much change. And to think that I, who had once longed for change and adventure for years, was now a five-month-pregnant angel with the First Vampire for a lover and had engineered the escape of a werewolf not two weeks earlier.

I shook my head, smiling. It was all very confusing, and yet, very exciting at the same time. And now it would all change yet again. So far, I had not gone so far as to earn death as a punishment, but I was not so sure that my luck would hold out this time. Like with Sven, I would get only one chance. The rest of the night however, I had to keep up a normal appearance.

Many days I spent with Verona, when I was not haunting the library or sewing. Today was no exception, and I did want to see her one last time before I left. Rising, I left the window and crossed my room to the wardrobe. Midnight already and I hadn't gotten dressed. I was getting so lazy.

There was really only one dress that fit my current mood. Made of a light, floating material, the dress had a curving V-neck and sheer half-sleeves that split at my elbow and hung loose around my wrists. While it had the smallest hint of embroidery around the neck, it was for the most part plain white that gathered under my breasts and fell gracefully to the floor.

Wearing it made me feel ghostlike and with my pale coloring, I probably looked the part. But that's what I was in this castle: a wraith, drifting silently along the cold stone corridors, drifting through the days and weeks.

The door to her chamber creaked slightly as I pushed it open. "Hello Verona," I said, stepping into her room. The vampire queen was reclined on a couch, sipping blood from a goblet. Seeing me standing in the doorway, she smiled and licked the blood from around her mouth.

"Hello Destiny. I trust you are well?"

"Of course," I lied, smiling at her. Sitting myself on a chair next to her, I glanced at the liquid in her cup.

"Is that a special vintage or something? You usually prefer it straight from the source." Verona smiled at this remark.

"How well you know me Destiny. Yes, it is 200 years old, a rare treat. And a child's blood is always _so_ sweet." I hid my disgust carefully. "How are they?" There was no need to ask whom she meant.

"Just fine Verona. I can feel them move a tiny bit. Not much really, but faintly, once in a while."

I spent the rest of the night with her, chatting about meaningless things, until morning came and it was time to retire.

It was noon when I woke again. I had discovered that the farther it was from night, the sounder a vampire slept, so I was not overly afraid of my movements waking Dracula up. I simply stood beside his coffin for a few minutes and watched the candlelight play across his features, etching them into my memory.

Reaching up, I removed my earrings and placed them beside him. They were simple, just small gold hoops, but they were from me. Gently, I brushed loose hairs out of his face.

"Rest love," I murmured. "Enjoy one last day of peace before the race begins." Brushing away a tear, I re-covered the coffin and stole silently out of the room.

I had left a small bag of the things I would be taking with me in the lesser library. In the bag I had packed two easily compressed dresses, the completed embroidery, and two books from the library. One was on herbs and healing, the other on mythical creatures and magic. If I ever got settled somewhere safe, they could prove useful.

Stepping out into the daylight, I grew my feathery wings and walked to the edge of the cliff on which the ground level of the castle was situated. It was snowing lightly, as always here, and the sky was dotted with patches of alternating cloud and sky. My gown would also serve as camouflage against this bright background.

My freedom was just a leap away, and yet, I was loath to leave and return to a world in which I no longer had a place. But it had to be done now, or never. Every second I tarried here was one less that I could spend in unpersued flight. So I leapt off the ledge, spread my wings, and flew off without a backward glance, fighting tears.

I know not how long I flew, nor exactly how far. When one is flying over continuous mountains and valleys, you tend to feel as if you're just flying in place. The trap of this type of flying is that you relax too much and let your mind wander, you forget to be vigilant. So with one part of my mind, I kept a mental ear out for any sigh that Dracula was waking.

I flew for a few hours at a steady pace, conserving my energy and praying I wouldn't be followed yet. I had capabilities for a short, fast sprint, but Dracula and the Brides had their unholy speed that could be used for great distances.

After what seemed like forever, I spied a town big enough to hide, but not so big that I would likely find other vampires. Above it rested a large stone castle, backing up to the mountains. Folding my wings, I sped towards the town. Below my, a villager screamed, attracting the attention of others.

Oh. Not good. I thought. I landed in front of the church and then it hit me. They had thought I was one of the Brides. Dressed in white, flying, coming from the direction of Dracula's fortress…but that meant that Dracula and the Brides had visited this town before.

I ignored the people that were beginning to venture into the central square and raced up the steps to the wooden church as I retracted my wings. My sudden appearance must have startled the priest out of at least two years of his life, for he nearly fell off his pew. Racing up the aisle to him, I knelt and clasped my hands in front of me.

"Father, grant me sanctuary!" I pleaded. This surprised him even more.

"My child, what –"

"Please Father! I will be safe if I am granted protection from the church!" I begged. It was then that he noticed the gentle swell of my stomach and his face softened.

"Of course I will grant you sanctuary." He took my hands and lifted me from where I knelt on the floor. "Now, you'd best tell me your story."

I was unsure of exactly how much to tell the priest for fear of being denied help. "It started with Dracula."

The priest blanched and made the sign of the cross.

"I'm trying to escape from his castle, where I have been held for six months. Please help me get far away from here."

The priest stroked his short white and gray beard. "If I can get you to Rome, the Vatican might be able to protect you. They are the only ones who will stand any chance against that monster."

"I know," I said. "Thank you. My name is Destiny."

He studied me for a second. "And indeed, the Lord has placed an important destiny upon you. It will not be easy, but you will find your peace I believe. I am called Father Dimitri. Come," He started walking towards the front door. "I must get you to the castle before nightfall."

I followed closely behind him as we reentered the town. Now that I was not in so much of a hurry to gain protection, I was free to look around. There was not much to see really, just gray houses covered in gray snow under gray clouds. So somber. It weighed heavily upon my mood.

We cleared the last buildings of the town when I noticed the sun beginning to sink in the sky. Anxiety stabbed through my gut and I turned worriedly to Father Dimitri.

"How long until we reach the castle?" It did not look very far, but distance could be deceiving. "Any moment, Dracula will –" My words were cut off by a piercing shriek of fury that resounded in my skull. With an agonized cry, I dropped to the icy ground, futilely covering my ears to block out the sound.

"He knows!" My voice came out as a strangled sob, thickly laced with pain. "He knows! Oh God, they're _coming_!"

I was blind to my surroundings, deaf to Father Dimitri's concerned voice. I did not feel when, with surprising strength for a man past his prime, he lifted me up and carried me the last lengths to the castle.

All my thoughts were turned to a condemned ice fortress where my enraged lover had finally awoken.

* * *

Eeeheeheehee! Bet none of you saw that coming! What will happen next? Only my muse knows (and I found out that if I stand up to her, she hits me over the head with a plushie, not a wheel of cheese) Review please!


	19. Remorse and Rage

Chapter 19: Remorse and Rage

AN: OMG OMG OMG. I?m so sorry I haven?t updated in two weeks! First it was the damn writer?s block I got halfway through the chapter and THEN, to make it even better, once I?d finally finished the chapter, my computer crashed! I got some weird virus thing that completely screwed up my hard drive. But it?s fixed now and I don?t have enough energy to write much more except to say:

Thank you for all the reviews!

Send in ideas for the sequal! And

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

* * *

Father Dimitri was not an infrequent visitor to the Valerious castle, but when he went to open the front door, Boris had to concede that he had never seen the priest with an unconscious girl in tow.

"Good evening Dimitri," he politely said, closing the door after them. He was trying hard not to stare at the girl, who was, by all appearances, solid white. He could not help noticing the slight pregnant swell of her stomach. "Do you need help?"

Father Dimitri nodded. "If you have a spare room in which I can put Destiny, I will be able to explain better. One without windows, as we?ve gotten into a bit of vampire trouble, to put it lightly."

Boris cursed mentally. Vampires were a source of never-ending trouble, though he was interested to know how this ?Destiny?, as she seemed to be called, had gotten mixed up with them. His father was not going to like this one bit.

A moan startled him out of his thoughts. Father Dimitri had stopped and was trying to maintain his hold on Destiny as she writhed and squirmed, trying to escape a menace only she could see.

"Let me help Father," Boris offered, and took Destiny into his arms. To his surprise she was not unconscious, as he?d previously thought. Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, pupils dilated so large that they almost obscured any trace of blue in her iris. He could feel her trembling violently in his arms.

They reached a medium-sized, windowless room in the interior of the Valerious castle where Boris carefully placed Destiny on the carved wooden bed. Father Dimitri shut the door behind them. Seating himself in one of the room?s armchairs, he motioned for Boris to join him.

"Now I will tell you what I know of her."

_back to Destiny_

I wrenched myself from the hold of Dracula?s mind and sat bolt upright, gasping for solid breath. The first thoughts to pass through my perplexed mind were that a) I was on a bed b) in a stone room and c) Father Dimitri was talking to someone I didn?t know. They turned towards me and I studied the stranger.

He looked not much older than I with wavy brown hair, soft brown eyes, and a roguish sort of charm that clung to him like a lady?s perfume. I liked him on sight. Father Dimitri rose as I eased myself off the bed.

"Are you well now Destiny?" he asked, concerned. I nodded silently, not quite trusting my voice yet. It felt as though I had been screaming for eternity.

"Good," he said. He motioned to the stranger, who stepped forward. "Destiny, this is Boris Valerious. I believe he will be able to help us." I frowned slightly as I offered my hand.

"Valerious? Was there an ex-werewolf running around your castle two weeks ago?"

Boris gazed at me in shock. "How could you know?"

"I helped his escape Dracula through the portal by which Dracula was banished in the first place. I hope he did not cause too much trouble?" I anxiously awaited his answer.

"I received word only yesterday that he was settled safely in England, if that will ease your heart. And now, more importantly, how are we going to get you to Rome?" He looked towards Father Dimitri.

"Well, the easiest way would be to go through Budapest," he began thoughtfully, but I quickly cut him off.

"NO!" The two men looked at me in surprise. I fidgeted under their stares. "I mean, um, there are way too many vampires that frequent Budapest. It would be the most dangerous city to pass through. Word could easily get out to Dracula about where I was. What about by sea?"

Boris frowned and shook his head in dismissal. "No, we?d be downright naked out on the open sea. Sitting ducks, if you will, and we?d stand no chance against his speed if Dracula caught up with us." His tone implied that such an observation was obvious. He thought me a child and I resented it.

"Think you that I know nothing?" I demanded, hands on my hips. When he didn?t answer, I continued. "If you are so knowledgeable, then why don?t _you_ tell us the route to take. I noticed you haven?t proposed one yet!" Hormones, fear, and resentment had combined to make me snappish.

Father Dimitri laid a hand on my shoulder, as much to restrain me as to calm me. "Calm yourself child," he said soothingly. "We will find a way to Rome. Just have patience."

"I?ll have patience if _he_," I pointed an accusing finger at Boris, "loses some of his arrogance. Just because your _noble_ family has been fighting Dracula for 300 years or however long does not mean you know everything about him and his brides!" The force of my anger weakened my hold on my mental walls, lessened the protective barriers I had been shielding my mind with.

?DESTINY!? Dracula?s voice was so loud in my head that it was a wonder Boris and Father Dimitri didn?t hear it as well. I screamed and sank to my knees.

"Get out!" I shouted, mentally as well as verbally. "Leave me alone!" I was fighting a losing battle, pitting my mental strength against his, yet I desperately tried to keep the presence of Boris and Father Dimitri form him. In this at least I succeeded before I blacked out from the effort of staving off his power.

A faint clink, not unlike the sound or ceramic against ceramic, woke me. Sitting up slightly in bed, I looked around curiously for the source of the noise and spotted a young woman setting a bowl and plate on a small table.

"Oh," she said, noticing me, "You?re awake. Are you feeling all right? No headache? Nausea?"

I shook my head to both counts. She was pretty in a dark way with long brown hair, dark brown eyes, a plush mouth, and tan-ish skin. She was wearing black pants and boots with a white shirt and brown vest.

"I?m Nonia, Boris?s sister." She came over. Nonia did resemble Boris some. She looked to be a few years older than I was.

"Destiny." I sat up and would have gotten out of the bed had Nonia not rushed over and stopped me.

"Don?t," she warned. "Boris filled me in on your situation and I have strict instructions to make sure you don?t over-strain yourself." That did it. I rose and stalked out of the door before she could stop me.

"I?m not going to fall to pieces just because I?m pregnant," I said furiously to myself. "Why does everyone think that? Ergh!" I stopped in the middle of the hall, suddenly realizing that I had absolutely no idea where I was going, meaning that I was both a) lost and b) had no destination to begin with.

There were many portraits on the walls and an equally numerous amount of weapon racks. The Valerious family obviously went fully armed whenever possible. Having nothing better to do, I wandered down the length of the hall, inspecting each portrait and weapon rack. Most of the paintings featured tough looking knights and noblemen who?d clearly seen a lot in life. And there were women too, with firm, determined faces and sharp eyes.

One painting in particular caught my eye. It was one of the older paintings and featured a pale, black haired man in rich clothing, though not the style I was used to. His eyes were the same inky pools but his face was softer. Of course, this painting was _before_ Dracula had been killed.

I reached up and gently ran my fingers over his painted features. "I?m sorry for running, my lord," I whispered. "And I know that you cannot hear me, but please forgive me what I had to do." A single tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away, not noticing the pair of eyes watching me from a doorway.

I drifted over to one of the large windows, relishing the warmth of the sunlight upon my face. The town had taken some damage from last night, but they would survive, so long as I left quickly. I would need to talk to Boris about that, and soon. We would have to leave at dawn, when the vampires would have to sleep, and travel both day and night whenever possible. I?d better find him now.

A few staircases, some locked doors and many wrong turns later, I heard voices coming from a room on my right. Quietly, I snuck over to the open doorway and listened.

"Are you sure?" That was Father Dimitri.

"Positive, and it really confuses me. If she?s running from him, why would she be apologizing to his portrait?" Nonia sounded both concerned and suspicious. My stomach knotted in fury as I realized they were talking about _me_! Behind my back!

"What if ?" But Boris wasn?t able to finish his sentence because I chose that moment to storm into the room, practically shaking with anger.

"How dare you!" I demanded of them, not even paying attention to their surprised and slightly guilty faces. "If you are going to speculate about me, at least do it to my face so you don?t jump to absurd conclusions!" There was a moment tense silence before Nonia stood and walked over to me.

"Destiny ?" she began, but I cut her off.

"What were you talking about?" My voice was now deceptively pleasant, more dangerous than outright anger. All it would take was one wrong word to set me off and they knew it.

Apparently, Boris either didn?t care or did not fear my wrath. He would soon learn. "Why were you talking to a portrait of Count Dracula?" he asked, eyes hard. "Why were you _apologizing_ for running from _him_?"

"Why should I not talk to it?" I shot back. We stood across the table from one another. "I lived in his fortress for six months did I not?"

Nonia paled, but did not say anything. That is, until she looked at my stomach, put two and two together, and got four. (AN: two plus two equals four offspring. Get it? Keke)

"It was him," she said in a strangled whisper. Father Dimitri and Boris turned to look at her, puzzled. Matching her gaze unflinchingly, I nodded slowly, face impassive.

"It was who Nonia?" asked Boris.

"Dracula," was all she could say, but Boris noted the direction of her gaze and his face turned as dark as a thundercloud. Storming around the side of the table, he grabed my shoulders and shook me, nod hard enough to injure me, but hard enough to piss me off.

"How COULD you!?" He yelled. "How could you let that happen!?" That absolutely did it. I grew my wings, something none of them had ever seen, and slapped him with them, sending him sprawling.

"Shut up and don?t you dare make accusations Boris Valerious! You don?t know what I had to go through! You were not there! You have NO IDEA!" Father Dimitri made the sign of the cross over himself. In the back of my mind, I realized that it was because I had started to glow for some reason.

"I may love him, but before you dare judge me on that, I?d like to see YOU be kidnapped, fed on by Dracula, changed into an angel, be captive in an ice fortress, find out you?re pregnant, try to KILL yourself, summon a demon, free a werewolf, and be denied the DEATH you sought before you even considered running away! DO NOT JUDGE ME!"

Having nothing else to say to that noble pig, I turned and ran, all the way back to my room, where I locked the door and promptly burst into tears. How would I ever get to Rome now?


	20. Messing About In Dreams

Chapter 20: Messing About In Dreams

AN: I finally updated!!!!!!!!!!!! I had severe writer's block throughout this whole damn chapter, but I got through it. phew! I've also been really down lately, so I haven't really felt much like writing. But enough about that stuff. Just enjoy the long-awaited chapter. : )

Eventually, I cried myself out and drifted into a tired sleep. But my dreams were by no means peaceful. I tossed fitfully as they wrapped around me in a dark blanket, one that held no warmth or comfort.

__

The room was dimly lit by outside light. It was my room from the castle, I realized. I tried to take a step forward, but my dream-feet wouldn't obey my mind's commands.

"Do you honestly think you can run from me angel?" I looked around frantically for the source of that cold, mocking, familiar voice. An arm snaked its way around my waist from behind and another ran its pale fingers through my hair. I could feel his chin resting on top of my head.

"Honestly," he continued, "I thought you were smarter than that."

"Stop it," I ordered sharply. But he only laughed, sending a chill down my spine.

"They know much, don't they?" I said nothing. "But you know I will wait. I am patient. I will stalk you in the shadows, waiting for your first mistake. You cannot run forever, and there is no place you can run where I will not find you eventually."

His fingers caressed the side of my face. "But you haven't told them that, have you? Too scared my dear? Come now, silence does not become one such as yourself."

"Shut up Count." I snapped, trying to free myself. But as often happens in dreams, I had no control over my body. "I would prefer to be a thousand miles away right now than here in this room. And no, I don't need to tell them everything."

"No, you don't," he agreed. "But that's not your reasoning. I know you too well." He paused, and I could feel him searching my mind. I pushed him out. "You really don't like the Valerious, do you? Just as well. So judgmental they are."

By this time I was getting really annoyed. "Is there a purpose to you keeping me in this dream state Dracula? Because it's pissing me off and I'm subject to strong mood swings right now you know."

"It serves three purposes actually. One, you can't make any annoying little escape plans. Two, it gives my Brides a chance to close in on your position without you running around and spoiling the surprise for everyone. You have a habit of doing that, unfortunately. And three, we get to spend some…quality time together."

I snorted. "I've freed myself from your influence a long time ago Dracula. I'm a big girl now; I can think for myself."

He trailed kisses down my neck and, in spite of myself, I bent my head back to give him better access to my neck.

"See?" he whispered. "You don't hold as much sway as you think." That snapped me out of the stupor I'd been in and wrenching hard, I pulled myself away –

– and woke up on the bed in a cold sweat, panting. Nonia was bending over me.  
"Destiny? Are you all right? I heard you moaning in your sleep and I couldn't wake you."

I shook my head to dispel the lingering traces of sleep. "No, it was just a dream Nonia. Just a dream," I assured her, though I knew better. "But the Brides are headed this way. You'd better get a crossbow or something." Nonia looked at me in surprise.

"How did you –? No, never mind. Stay here," she ordered, and ran from the room to tell her brother, or her father, or whoever was in charge of these things.

"Like hell I'll stay in here. Who does she think she is, my mother?"

I left and followed her through the halls. Standing at the window, I saw the Brides winging their way towards the castle. Already Nonia was readying her crossbow and taking a place at another window out of my sight.

I watched, silent and torn, as Verona, Marishka, and Aleera were fired upon and hit several times with wooden stakes. I still hated Aleera and rejoiced when she was hit, but as Verona pulled a bolt out of her wing, her eyes met and locked onto mine. I held her gaze steadily, trying to somehow convey to my foster mother (as I privately thought of her) how sorry I was that this had to happen.

Eventually, they tired of the fight and left. The castle was silent for a long time before I felt someone behind me, someone who walked heavily in boots and smelled of leather and horses.

"I am leaving at dawn," I told Boris, not even deigning to spare him a glance. "Whether you and your sister accompany me is your own choice, but I cannot delay the journey to Rome any longer."

He sighed. "Our father knows of a member of the Knights of the Holy Order that we can contact. He's currently on assignment in Kiev. If we can get you to Kiev, he can smuggle you safely to the Vatican. Better than we could," he admitted.

I took in the information in stony silence. I had _not_ forgiven him in the slightest for what had occurred earlier. He tugged on my arm, but I still refused to look at him.

"Destiny, this is childish," he snapped, spinning me about to face him. I glared up at him, refusing to be intimidated. Did he honestly think that his rages would ever compare to Dracula's? The mental image made me laugh.

"You can't frighten me Boris. And if you're going to act like a spoiled noble's brat and have this kind of attitude –"

"I'm _not _acting like a 'spoiled noble's brat' in the slightest. I'm angry that you had a relationship with the son of the Devil!" he exclaimed furiously.

A smirk played around my lips. "Jealous?" I asked slyly. Laughing scornfully, I slipped away from him and trotted down the hall. "Be ready at dawn," I called. "I won't wait for you."

Even at that distance, I could hear him cursing fluently. I laughed beneath my breath. For a member of a noble house, Boris wasn't very cultured or chivalrous. Maybe it was the gypsy in him.

I sought out Father Dimitri. He was still in the study, in the same chair as he had been when I yelled at them. I wondered idly if he had moved at all since that incident.

"Father?" He turned weary brown eyes in my direction.

"Ah, Destiny. Has Boris told you about –"

"Exchanging in Kiev? Yes. I want to leave at dawn. The vampires will be forced to withdraw then and we need as much of a head start as possible. And we should be equipped and prepared to split up if need be, one group acting as a decoy." I spoke without breaking, giving him no chance to respond. "We travel by day and night, no stopping if we can help it. And we need to bring along plenty of holy water, stakes, and crossbows."

With that, I swept out of the room. I knew I was acting like a bitch, but they had earned it in my eyes. On my way, I passed a huge map of Transylvania. It was so big that it took up a whole entire wall. It was just about as big as the mirror gate at Dracula's castle.

Wait a minute.

I looked more closely at the map. It was the same height, same shape. Yes, it was definitely the gateway. I wondered idly if I should tell Boris or Nonia.

Perhaps.

There was a small piece of the map missing in the bottom left corner. One doesn't have to be a genius to recognize an inscription. It was probably the way to open the gate, and someone had wanted to prevent those of this castle form ever doing so. So the ripped off the all-important end of the inscription. In spite of myself, I smiled slightly. I don't think the Valerious knew, even after 300-odd years, that the answer to their vampiric problem was right under their noses. It was priceless.

I didn't think I would tell them though. It wasn't good for nobles to have everything just handed to them on a silver platter. A voice in the back of my mind whispered nastily that I was trying to protect Dracula. I told it to shut up and promptly barred the thought from my mind.

Nonia came up next to me with a tray of food in her hand. "I was going to bring this to you," she explained apologetically. I took it as her way of saying sorry, and forgave her. I was never very good at holding grudges anyway, except in special circumstances.

"Let's take it to my room," I suggested. We walking in silence down the halls. Once in my room, she divided the food up evenly and we sat down.

"We're leaving at dawn," she informed me. "You and I will take one carriage one way, and Boris will follow a slightly different route. With any luck, and hoping one of our horses doesn't throw a shoe or something, we should make Kiev in three or four days. After all," she bragged proudly, "Nothing is faster that Transylvanian horses."

I smiled slightly. "You know the large map of Transylvania in the main hall?"

Nonia nodded. "Well," I continued, "It's the gateway to Dracula's castle." Her mouth dropped open, her face paled, and she swayed.

"You mean…the key has been under our noses for more than 300 years and no one has known?" I nodded. "How do you open it?"

"I don't know how to open it from this side," I said, which was partially the truth. "I just recognized the size and shape of the other side of the gate in Dracula's domain. Now if you will excuse me, I'd like to get a few hours of sleep before we leave."

Nonia picked up the leftovers and placed them on the tray. On her way out, she turned to look at me.

"Thank you Destiny. So much of my family has died searching for a way to find and kill Dracula. Now we are one major step closer because of you." With that, she left.

A pang of guilt stabbed my heart, but I brushed it aside. Something else was niggling at the edges of my mind.

"Much of your family has died in this effort, my friend," I whispered softly to the darkness, one hand on my abdomen. "I fear you will too."

Okay, please please please review! Reviews make my muse happy. (hey, that kinda rhymes!)


	21. The Journey Begins

Chapter 21: The Journey Begins

AN: WEEEEE! I got over my writing slump! My Midterm exams are done! Christmas break has started and for once it's not filled with homework. Life's looking good right about now. Sorry I took so long, I really am. I hadn't really thought out the particulars of this section, because originally, she didn't go to Kiev. Actually, come to think of it, I didn't even plan how she would get to Rome. Oh well. (: p) I like Indian food (wow that's random) but while we're on the topic, go to an Indian restaurant and order garlic naan and vegetable pakura. Naan is good. (nummy nummy in my tumbly)

Oh, before I forget. A Remarkably Crazy Person Called Aleera was wondering if Destiny loves or hates Dracula. Well, it's a lot of both. A very rocky love/hate relationship. She really really loves him, but knows he's evil, so she really really hates him too and is not quite sure what to do about her feelings. My poor character. I'm really torturing her, aren't I? (Naan is goooood)

And crackpotjoe? You are not the only one who can bend my sister to your will. Soon I will interrogate her and find out your secret weapon. Then, it will not be secret anymore! And I will know what it is, because it will not be secret! And I will devise a counter weapon for your formerly-secret Secret Weapon! (evil maniacal crazy laughter)

Ummm…yeah, sorry 'bout that. (it's an ongoing battle between us. I WILL win, eventually. I WILL ENDURE!) kay, I'll go take my meds now…(inches away)

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I woke shortly before dawn. The fire in my room had gone out and my breath formed wispy cloudy in the air as I rose and crossed to the water basin. A few splashes of the icy water on my face were enough to wake me up so that I could function, to some extent. The irregular sleeping pattern I had had of late was severely draining my energy. 

I looked at myself in the mirror, once again wondering where my past self had gone. My eyes no longer held their youthful sparkle; instead, they were filled with the look of one who had to bear the weight of the world upon her shoulders. My skin, pale before, was nearly transparent now and my face was drawn and worn.

Sighing, I changed into one of the other dresses I had brought with me and left my room, heading for the castle's entrance. Nonia and Boris were already there, each readying a team of black horses attached to one of two carriages. I climbed into Nonia's.

"We'll aim to meet at Black Dale. If not, then see you in Kiev," Nonia was telling Boris. She gave him a hug and then climbed up into the driver's seat of the carriage. With a flap of the reins, we were off.

Most of the ride that day was uneventful. For the most part I studied my books, watched the landscape roll by, or simply dozed. I knew that sleep would not come easily during the night. The sky turned cloudy and it began to drizzle. I thought of Nonia, out there in the wet. She was probably cold, or, perhaps not. She was Transylvanian after all. We are a hardy lot.

Around late afternoon, my vamp senses twitched. I popped the top hatch of the carriage open. "Nonia!"

She looked back at me. "What?"

"We've got vamps coming our way."

Nonia cursed fluently and picked something up from the seat next to her. "Here," she thrust a crossbow into my hands. "Shoot them. I can't protect the both of us _and_ drive this thing at the same time."

I gulped slightly, having had really no experience whatsoever with crossbows. And then there was the problem, again, of my damned loyalties. I couldn't shoot Vladislaus or Verona, I just couldn't. Marishka I could and Aleera I happily would shoot however. Before long, I could see shapes in the distance. My eyes narrowed as they came closer. There were only two…

Where were the others? I could make out…yes that was Marishka and Verona. Did that mean that Dracula and Aleera were tailing Boris? Or had they figured out our ruse and the other two were hiding? I fervently hoped for the former, although Boris would be vulnerable with no one else to shoot while he drove.

I aimed, looking down the shaft and waiting for them to come within range. Sending a prayer up to God, I squeezed the trigger and loosed the shaft. My first shot went wild, but it warned the two Brides to be cautious. My second shot lodged itself in Marishka's leg. Because the shafts were tipped in silver and had been dunked in holy water, she was forced to hover and remove the bolt before it poisoned her bloodstream.

"Destiny!" Nonia yelled. I looked to my left, and saw the other carriage through the trees.

"Shit!" I hissed, fumbling to reload the crossbow. Nonia tied the reins in place and grabbed her gun. As she loosed a shot at Verona, I scanned the sky for our missing vampires.

"Damn damn damn," I chanted under my breath. "This is not good."

"Understatement," gritted Nonia tersely.

Some sixth sense tingled and I dropped back into the carriage just as something large and winged swooped in from behind. I popped my torso back up, seeing Dracula wheeling for another go. Swaying slightly, I lifted the crossbow.

'You think you can kill me so easily my darling?' he taunted in my head, battering mercilessly on my mental shields.

'No, but it'll still hurt and I'll settle for that!' I yelled back and shot him, piercing his wing. With an enraged screech, he dived.

"God give us sunlight!" I screamed, scrunching my eyes together and shooting again. I heard the cries of my undead 'family' and opened my eyes to see that a shaft of sunlight had broken through the cloud cover and surrounded us. Dracula and the Brides were flying away to escape its rays.

"Thank you Lord," I whispered, and fainted.

"Boris, I'm warning you." That was Nonia's voice. _"Show some –"_

That was Nonia's voice. 

Slap! A stinging blow was dealt to my cheek, quickly followed by one on the other. My eyes snapped open.

"This isn't naptime, Majesty," growled Boris. I opened my mouth to deliver a sharp reply, but he was pushed out of the way and Nonia entered my line of vision.

"Are you okay Destiny?" she asked. "Nothing hurts?"

I sat up on the carriage seat, rubbing my temples. "Just my head," I replied. Nonia nodded her head understandingly and helped me out into the evening air.

"You're sure Dracula can't find this place?" I asked, looking up at a little patch of sky visible between the thick tree cover. She smiled.

"Positive. This place isn't called 'Black Dale' for nothing. Come nightfall, this place will be virtually invisible from any other point of view."

"Good." And I stalked over to where Boris was moodily unhitching the horses so they could graze and dealt him a hefty smack.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"I tell you as soon as you explain why _you_ slapped _me_!" I shot back. He floundered for an answer.

"Maybe because we were attacked by four vampires?"

"And how is that my fault!?"

"He could sense _you_, unless you called him," Boris accused, eyes dark with anger.

"What part of me running away to the VATICAN do you not understand, you asshole?"

"Don't deny you have the ability to do it. Hell, you have a motive to do it!"

I gaped at him, outraged. "And just what in God's name is that?"

"You still love him!" I glared daggers at him. "Don't deny it! You still love him! Why else would you be carrying his progeny? Be willing to bring little demons into this world? Don't we have enough already?" That was going way too far. I pulled a dagger from its sheath up my sleeve and pressed it under his chin.

"Listen you spoiled, overgrown child," I hissed. "I don't care what you say about me. I don't need your opinion, however little it's worth. But don't ever even think about threatening my children, do you hear me? Whatever I do, I do it for my own reasons and I am not answerable to you and your over-inflated ego. Pull one more stunt like this, and I won't hesitate…" I let the words dangle as I pressed the blade a little closer to his skin.

"Children, stop fighting," said Nonia. "And go to sleep! We're moving again in a few hours." I sheathed the dagger and stalked over to where Nonia had put her things.

"Your brother, no offense, is an asshole," I remarked, laying down on the grass.

"I know he can be at times, but could you two just try to come to some sort of truce? It makes the trip a whole lot harder with you two arguing all the time."

I sighed. "All right, for you. But tell him," I jerked my thumb over to where Boris was, "to just lay off my past okay? That's why I fight with him."

I could make out Nonia's grateful smile in the growing darkness. "Thanks Destiny." She squeezed my hand and stood. I rolled over and pretended to sleep while I eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Boris, this needs to stop. You're just going to lose every time, you know. Plus, you logic for that argument was completely off course."

"Point being?"

"It's pointless for you two to keep at it like this. It's driving me crazy. And why do you keep needling her about – wait, don't even answer that. Promise to try?"

"Fine! If it'll get you to stop nagging me."

"Good. And, dear brother, a word to the wise: don't ever threaten a pregnant woman's babies if you want to avoid circumcision." Smothering laughter, I drifted into sleep, where my dreams were filled with arrows, darkness, and the constant beating of wings.

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Review! Reviewreviewreview! Bolster my muse! (neener) poke (neener) poke. kekeke 


	22. What A Nasty Surprise

Chapter 22: What A Nasty Surprise

AN: Hello my lovelies! I'm back, and I'm not dead! It's a miracle! (haha, no seriously though, I'm fine). Remember a couple chapters back when I was having computer trouble and it crashed? Well, turns out it wasn't the computer after all, it was the freaking monitor! Something about the transponder, I don't really understand exactly what was wrong, but basically it broke and we needed a new one.

So we went to get our old one back from our neighbors (we'd loaned it to them). The problem: they were on a cruise (I swear, these people must have gone on every cruise line there is!) But they came back, my muse came back with them (traitorous vacation-taker), we got a new monitor, and you guys get a new chappie!

Even better, I've actually planned out the rest of the story (this is the part where you gasp in shock)! All I knew was that Destiny left with the Valeriouses and ended up in Rome…somehow. Well, I now know the 'somehow'! Yippee! So, I'll try to be better about updating, I promise.

But, I'm going to be at camp for the next three days, so if I come back and find my mailbox full of reviews, who knows how fast I'll be able to churn out the next chappie? (hint hint: review please!) Enjoy this one. And the title is a bit of an understatement. You'll see what I mean. (sorry 'bout the long AN)

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All villages near Transylvania have several things in common. A church, at least one tavern, a large graveyard for your basic necromancy material, a well, and a town square that isn't even square. Plus, they are all gray and somber, full of gray somber people in gray somber houses, living gray somber lives until they die, some sooner rather that later. Because, of course, every village comes complete with at least one monster, no assembly required. In fact, it's near impossible to tell one village from another.

Such was the case with the village where we spent our next might on the road. According to Nonia, there was no safe place to stay in the open between Black Dale and Kiev and it was too dangerous to travel at night. Boris was unhitching the horses and arranging for the spare team to be stabled here until they came to pick it up on the return journey when Nonia returned with our lodging assignments. Rather than stay at an inn, she'd persuaded a young couple to rent out two rooms for the night.

"As long as it's a place to sleep," said Boris, not even turning to look at her. I knew he was grumpy from an early start and he _had_ been the driver for most of the day, so I knew he was tired. For the lack of sleep, he held his temper in check very well, for a guy. I didn't tell him that, of course.

Our hostess was not much older than I; perhaps only by three or four years. She had a round homely face and kind brown eyes. I could tell that one day she would make a great mother.

"Destiny, this is Gydaine Saefas," said Nonia, once we were inside the house. She offered her hand and I took it politely.

"Nice to meet you." Remembering my manners, I added, "Thank you for letting us stay here."

Gydaine smiled and waved the comment away. "It's nothing. It's a way to make a little extra money. Besides, we don't have any use for those rooms…yet." She and I shared a knowing look. "Your rooms are upstairs, at the back."

Nonia showed me ours. It was small, but cozy, and a tiny window facing north let in constant light. I peered out it for a minute.

"We're going to have to do something about your hair," remarked Nonia from behind me. I turned around.

"Huh?"

"It stands out and we need to blend in. You can't go around cloaked the whole time; that looks just as odd." She studied me. "I'm going to see what Gydaine has by way of temporary hair dyes. Stay here." She shut the door behind her.

A few minutes later she was back with a small packet, which she tossed to me. "Hold this while I get some water."

ten minutes later

I stared at myself in the dusty glass that passed for a mirror. "I look weird," I stated, fingering a strand of my wet, now brunette hair.

"Hush," said Nonia, slightly exasperated. "It'll be a lot lighter when it dries. Come on, it's time for dinner."

I'd been expecting some smart remark from Boris, but he merely lifted an eyebrow before applying himself to his food. With good reason. Gydaine was a better cook than I ever was, which, though it's a complement to her, isn't saying that much.

However, it was as we were ascending the stairs to go to bed that Boris innocently remarked, "Well, at least you look normal now."

"Want to explain what exactly _that_ means?"

"Subject to your own interpretation."

"I thought you both agreed not to fight!" Nonia's voiced called from her room.

"Friendly banter," Boris and I said in unison, then looked at each other, horrified that we'd shared the same thought.

Up until this point, I had not really paid much attention to the direction we were taking. I only knew that we were going under a general northwest heading. But as I sat alone in the carriage, munching on a pastry, courtesy of Gydaine, I couldn't but help feel that _something_ was different outside.

Unable to ignore the niggling anymore, I brushed aside the curtain and looked out the window.

Trees, as far as I could see, with mountains rearing their frigid heads above the green foliage. Surely there was nothing odd about trees. I frowned, and looked closer. We passed a rocky stream and I jumped.

"I know this place," I whispered. "I know this." Soon, other landmarks began to appear: Grandfather's Knee, a rock I had often visited as a child, the old hollow twisted oak that I had thought was haunted. I didn't even realize that I was crying until I brought my pastry up for another bits and found soggy patches on it.

I popped my head up top. "Nonia, can we please stop at the village up here?"

Nonia turned with a questioning look in her eyes. "How do you know there's a village here?"

"Because it's _my_ village. Please, let me out for a little bit. All I ask is one hour," I begged. She smiled slightly.

"For an hour. We can't waste what daylight we have."

After ten minutes, the carriage stopped. As excited as any child at holiday time, I threw open the door and leapt out.

Nothing could have prepared me for the sight that met my eyes. The dead, people and animals, littered the streets, their bodies positioned haphazardly, as if they had fallen. There was no house that I could see which did now show some sign of damage. Glass shards glittered on the ground, some doors had been pulled clean off their hinges, and holes in people's roofs were all too common. Just to be sure I knew who had done this, the church had been given special attention.

It had been burned to the ground.

Nonia and Boris were silent, not quite knowing what to say. I hurried through the streets, looking for familiar faces among the dead. Some had already been buried, but not many; this attack had been recent. At the end of the street, I found what I had hoped not to.

Three people lay on the ground, like pale ragdolls. Mikal must have died trying to save Cari, but that hadn't worked, because she was here too. And Eileen, my best friend since infancy. I knelt in the bloodstained dirt and ran my fingers gently, lovingly, over her white, cold face. Reaching forward to close her eyes, I spotted the cause of death, by means of two small puncture holes on the side of her neck. Judging by the angle and size, it must have been Aleera who killed her. The irony of that hit me, because Aleera, who was always looking to do me harm, had killed my best friend without even knowing it was her.

It was then that I noticed a fourth person lying facedown twenty feet away.

"No," I prayed. "Please no." Rushing over, I turned over the body of my mother. Without even looking I knew Dracula had been the one to kill her. He was the only one who had ever known the identity of my mother.

Grabbing her icy hand, I pressed it against my cheek in a futile attempt to warm it. There are no words to describe the grief I felt at that moment. My mother was dead, because of me. If I hadn't run away, this never would have happened. I killed my own mother.

An inhumanly high-pitched shriek pierced the air, one filled with the pain of loss. It took me a few moments to realize that it had come from my throat. For that moment, all my mental shields were down. And I didn't care in the slightest. In my mind, I could feel the distant touch of Dracula. Obviously he was asleep for the day, or else he would be bellowing his dead lungs out at me. Well, he was in for a rude awakening.

He wanted to feel sorrow? Happy to oblige. Mustering what strength I had left, I _threw_ my feelings at him, pounding his mind with a barrage of rage, hatred, sorrow, loathing, pain, grief, and a number of feelings too intense to have any name.

'_I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, YOU BASTARD!'_ I screamed at him. '_HOW DARE YOU KILL MY MOTHER AND ALL OF THOSE DEAR TO ME!? AND DON'T GIVE ME ANY BULLSHIT ABOUT NEEDING TO FEED! YOU ONLY NEED TO ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH DAMN IT! I HATE YOU!_'

Before the intensely surprised vampire could respond, I had fled from his mind and slammed up my own shields. My rage gave way to sobs as I held my mother's body close and rocked her, as she had so often done to me, tears streaming down my face. Realizing what day it was only made me cry harder.

For my nineteenth birthday, my mother died.

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.....

Hello. This is Creative-Insanity's muse. Yes, I am speaking to you. And yes, I _can _hear your thoughts. I command you to review, to that my _friend_ (coughslave!cough) has lots of nice things to read when she gets back from camp. You review, and I'll get her lazy ass over to her notebook so she can write longhand while she's away. How's that for an under-the-table deal? Oh, and cookies are greatly appreciated.


	23. Cold Fury

Chapter 23: Cold Fury

AN: Hey! Look at that. A new chapter in less than a week. I'm proud of myself. Guess what I awoke to on the last day of camp? A three-day dead possum lying belly-up on our cabin doormat. Which was disturbing, because when we arrived at camp, it was lying at the entrance, about a mile from our cabin…very disturbing indeed. One of the boys did it, we think, because he has a crush on one of the girls in our cabin (no idea who). 'nough about that. This chapter it dedicated to A Seriously Crazy Person Called Aleera, because she gave me the idea for both it and the next chapter. Thanks oodles and oodles.

Now, CrackpotJoe. I will have you know that just because you believe you have turned one of my muses against me…oh, you didn't know I had more than one? Hah, I have one specifically for every story I write! And I have four Van Helsing stories alone besides this one, so I would not advise using that tactic again, for it is doomed to failure. Now (holds up fluffy pink frilly things with a skeptical look) _this_ was your "secret weapon"? One problem hon: (pulls out flamethrower) BURN MY PRETTIES!!!!! BURN! MWUAHAHAHAHA! (dancing in merriment as frilly things go BOOM) kekeke. I give you an 'A' for effort and sheer craziness (not that it even comes close to mine), but I'd watch your back. You never know what's watching you o.O (shifty eyes, forboding music playes)

Enjoy the chappie, my truckloads of cookies await! (munchmunch. Munchity munch munch)

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(Nonia's POV) 

Boris and I were so stunned by what we saw in the village that, against our better judgement, we stopped the carriage. We should have just gone straight through. Destiny was out before I could stop her. I winced at the look of joyful anticipation on her face, and then looked away as it slid into one of horrified shock.

"We should get her out of here," murmured Boris. I sighed.

"You can try, but she'd never forgive you. Let her see if her family survived." No sooner were the words out of my mouth then an inhumanly high-pitched shriek nearly destroyed our eardrums.

"Lord above!" Boris exclaimed, hands uncovering his ears, "What was that?"

I pointed to the pitiful figure kneeling across the square, surrounded by the dead. Destiny was sobbing her heart out. Having lost most of my family to vampires, I knew how she felt.

Abruptly, she straightened and rose. I went to meet her halfway and stopped short, marveling at the change that had come over her. Though I knew anyone who could endure six months of Dracula and then escape must have a strong spirit, I had always thought of Destiny as…well, a rose perhaps. Protected, but still fragile.

I saw none of that on her pale face. Her jaw was firmly set, her mouth pursed in a grim line, and her blue eyes were red-rimmed, but shining with cold purpose, not tears. I will admit, I had to fight the urge to step back; she radiated cold fury and looked ready to kill.

(back to Destiny)

"Nonia," I said calmly, "You and Boris will need to find somewhere very safe to spend the night tonight." And I would need weapons. Nonia looked at me questioningly, obviously demanding an explanation. So I invented a lie.

"I just attacked Dracula. Gave him a nasty wake-up call, I admit. But now he knows we're here and most likely he's already figured out whereabouts we'll be spending the night."

Nonia looked worried but headed back to the carriage, continuously looking over her shoulder at me. I followed, discreetly pilfering small, easy-to-conceal weapons lying around. Then climbed innocently into the carriage and shut the door. Popping open the hatch, I said, "Wake me when we're there please. I feel really drained."

And I did, but not for the reasons that they thought. Even now I could feel Dracula poking my shields, trying to find a weakness. I knew there was at least one and it would only be a matter of time until he found it.

It turned out to be several hours later. One moment I was reading quietly, the next I was standing in the middle of the ballroom in Budapest. Why Budapest, I do not know. Maybe because of the nature of the memories attached to that place.

I looked around the golden room. It appeared empty, save for me, but I knew better.

"Get out here," I ordered coldly. "I am in no mood for you games." With that, I spun around, checking to see if he was behind me.

"What have_ you done to your hair?" He ran a hand through it, playing with the silky tendrils. I froze, severely annoyed that he was behind me anyway. _

"Dyed it," I snapped. "And I give you three seconds to get the hell out of my head or I'll –" Dracula spun me around. My balance at the moment was not the best, so I was forced to grab his arm to keep from falling over.

"You'll what, Destiny?" he hissed, gripping my shoulders tightly. From my sleeve, I grabbed a knife and pressed it against his throat.

"Remind you of what it's like to feel pain." The words came out collected, cold, and carrying a deadly promise. Dracula just grabbed the weapon and threw it away. It clattered to the polished floor, breaking the ensuing silence.

"You've done quite enough of that already, I can assure you."

"Well, you did say you wanted to feel. And I believe sorrow was on your list." My voice rose as I tried to fight the tears that were threatening to escape. My mother's dead face floated on the top of my mind. I pushed Dracula away.

"You killed her, damn it!" I screamed at him. "She never did anything to you and you killed her for no reason other than she raised me! And did you realize that you killed all my friends too? You killed EVERYONE I LOVE!"

He shrugged with a smirk. "I am a vampire. It's in my nature to feed."

"Do I look like I care?"

Dracula vanished, only to reappear behind me, again. Damn, I hated that habit of his. He wrapped his cold arms around my waist, resting his hands on my swollen stomach.

"Don't touch my children," I gritted, trying desperately to suppress the feelings brought on by his touch. He was well aware of my struggle.

"Don't you see," he said softly, lips by my ear, "that you are fighting a losing battle? Eventually, I will catch you, little bird." Dracula ran one finger in gentle circles on my stomach while he trailed feather-light kisses down my neck. Despite my best efforts, I found myself relaxing into his hold. In my relaxed stupor, I almost missed his next words.

"A bird might escape her cage, but never her master." That woke me up quite effectively. Later on, I would laugh at the stupidity brought on by his arrogance. He could probably have easily persuaded me to stop running right then, but he had to ruin it by trying to satisfy his rather large ego.

"You were never my master," I hissed, and slammed my foot down on his instep. While he was momentarily distracted, I wiggled out of his hold and scrambled away, trying to put some distance between us.

I stared across the room at him, hating him and his ability to keep irritatingly calm in times like these. All my previous feelings were pushed back behind a mask of cold fury.

"I am going to kill you," I stated. "First, I'm going to torch those slime sacks you call children. Then Marishka. Then Aleera. Her death will be painful. Then I'm going to kill Verona. But I'll make hers quick. Then, after you've watched them die and I've left you completely alone in your wretched unlife, I'll kill you. Bit by bit, piece by piece, until you beg_ me you inject you with werewolf venom and make an end to it." _

I glared at him steadily to impress upon him that I meant to carry out that gruesome promise. Dracula's eyes flashed blue. He was steadily losing his temper as well and I knew that at any moment, one or the other of us was going to blow. At least I couldn't die here. Minds were a tricky battlefield.

"And just where would you get that venom?" he asked, unimpressed by my threat. "Even if you had it, you couldn't kill us. You couldn't even kill yourself." I tried to ignore the comments, recognizing that he was just trying to get to me, to get me to leave myself vulnerable, but it was hard.

"Things have changed Dracula. We_ have changed, and _you_ have made a critical error in choosing this battlefield." Imagination is unlimited. A bottle of holy water materialized in my hand and fire ran itself in a ring on the floor with me at the center. "This is _my_ turf Dracula, this is _my_ mind! Anything can happen." The floor under his feet disappeared and he was forced to morph in order to keep from falling. _

Dracula screeched at me and dove. I threw the holy water and the bottle shattered on his face, which was quickly hidden by steam. He shrieked in pain and suddenly I was able to see a picture on one of the mirrors. It was of myself, slumped on the carriage seat. The pain must have momentarily caused his grip on my mind to weaken. Remembering Dracula's relationship with mirrors, I dived through it –

havebegWeyoumymy 

– and sat bolt upright in the seat. I was back in the carriage, but the sky was starting to lose the sun's rays. Our confrontation had actually taken several hours.

It was agonizing, waiting for nightfall. Waiting safely tucked away deep within a village church. Hoping I wouldn't wake Nonia, or worse, Boris. So much depended again on so little. But I would have my revenge.

Nonia had finally succumbed to weariness and was sprawled in a chair in the corner of the room. Boris was somewhere, probably getting himself a drink. Well, he was welcome to it; lately, he looked like he could use it.

Placing a hand on my stomach, I was rewarded with the sensation of a tiny kick. The movement brought a small, sad smile to my face. Their future was so uncertain, and here I was, rushing headlong into danger yet again.

The cool night air caressed my face, banishing my fears. Growing my wings, I launched myself into the air, testing out my maneuverability. It was decent. Sparing one last glance at the church, I turned and winged my way along the mental pull of the count.

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NYAHAHAHAHAHA. I know, you guys'll hate me for stopping it there, but what would you rather have, a cliffhanger or a longer wait? R & R my lovelies, and the next chappie will come quickly. I do have a four-day weekend coming up this weekend. Lots of time for writing….. 


	24. Revenge

Chapter 24: Revenge

AN: Ack! I swore to myself when I started this thing that I would never take a hiatus. But then again, I never planned on 25-30 chapter story either. The origional plan only had 18 chapters. Geez, that would have sucked wouldn't it? But either way, I'm back and I must warn you: NEVER IN YOU LIFE read Beowulf, Dante's Inferno, or The Epic of Gilgamesh. NEVER!

Um….I'm done now so….if you are into online RPG, try Ragnarok. It's a manga one, based in either Hong Kong or Korea…I think it's Hong Kong. You can get a 15 day free trial (hence my hiatus). type (www.) then (roempire) then (.) then (com) for some reason I can't type it normally.

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The search led me to a mountain and I thought at first that I must surely be wrong. But looking closely, I could see a west-facing cave, just barely visible in the twilight. My jaw clenched firmly, I thought grimly to myself, 'And now everything shall be decided, one way or another.' 

"Coo. Coo." Came a mocking voice to my right. "So, the little bird decides to return to her nest."

I had wanted to get a good shot at Aleera, here was my chance. Pregnant though I was, I was still smaller boned that her with a greater wingspan, meaning I was slightly more maneuverable. Slightly.

"Only to kill you Aleera," I spat. Before she could defend herself, I shot straight at her, a silver dagger in each hand. As I banked left to avoid a collision, I slashed out. A shrill shriek of pain informed me that I'd hit my target.

Flying higher, I allowed myself the chance to look at my quarry. Aleera was holding one hand to her face, another to her neck. Had she been mortal she would have died already, and as it was, those wounds were not going to heal quickly. She turned hate-filled violet eyes upon my hovering figure and with a screech, launched herself at me, claws outstretched.

I dove, feeling air whoosh over my head, clipping a feather or two off. Damn it. My reflexes weren't as fast as I had hoped for, but it was too late now. A large cold body slammed into me from the side. Aleera sunk her claws into my arm and I screamed. Remembering the daggers I held, I plunged them all the way through her leg and gave them a nice little twist.

It succeeded in convincing Aleera to re-think her strategy, but sooner or later it wouldn't matter. If she were smart enough, she'd realize that all she had to do was keep chasing me and I'd eventually tire, if I didn't pass out from blood loss first. The wounds on my arms were bleeding quite freely now.

Someone bit my ear and I responded instinctively by swinging the blades of my daggers around and shoving them into whoever was behind me. Which turned out to be Marishka. She flew up to join Aleera, my daggers still imbedded in her stomach.

"Oh shit." I knew I was dead, right then and there. I was wounded and weaponless, facing two vampires with two more in places unknown.

"Did you come back to play Destiny?" Marishka grinned, an expression that made her look strikingly similar to a smug cat; an evil smug cat.

She dived, pulling my daggers out of her stomach as she did so. I barely managed to spin out of her way but recovered and followed her path down. Locking my hands around her neck from behind, I steeled my will and snapped it.

Marishka dropped like a stone. It wasn't enough to kill her, but she would be effectively paralyzed until it healed. From the cave in the mountain face came an enraged roar. A black shape, followed by a smaller white one, shot out of it at an incredible speed.

I was so dead. So very, very dead.

Aleera smirked at me. "Try to wing your way out of this one angel. I'll give you a head start."

I considered running, but realized now that Dracula was awake, such efforts were futile. The image of my mother and friends' bodies floated to the top of my mind and I glowed with rage. If it was my fate to die tonight, then so be it, but I would not go down with out a fight.

Grabbing my last weapon, the knife hidden up my sleeve, I threw myself at Aleera. Oblivious to anything else, I stabbed and slashed with my knife, looking for an opportunity to injure my foe. For her part, Aleera gave as good as she got. By the time Dracula and Verona arrived on the scene we were both bleeding from half a dozen or so wounds. I couldn't even tell what blood was mine and what was hers, a fact I was more than a little disturbed by.

"Hello Destiny, my dear," Verona's voice slid like oil into my ears. She must have snuck up from behind while I was busy with Aleera, and now she had me by the neck, just as I had had Marishka. The only difference was that if she snapped _my_ neck, I would not recover. For some reason though, she chose to land instead. I soon found out why.

A deeper demonic bellow reached my ears. "Ah," Verona purred. "Our Master is here." By this time I was shaking violently. Without even listing my offences, I knew that I had run out of chances with Dracula.

Verona let go of me grip as _he_ landed and morphed back into human form, a triumphant look on his face.

I will not die a coward, I thought to myself, and forced myself to meet his gaze. For a moment, the world grew fuzzy, but the illusion was pushed away as I called on the anger I felt towards him. I held onto it, letting it fuel me, and held his gaze without effect, defiant even now.

The smirk vanished from Dracula's face. In an instant he had closed the distance between us and locked a cold hand around my throat, trying to diminish my air supply. I heard his voice in my mind.

'What were you doing?' he demanded. 'Did you honestly think I would not catch you? And by the way, thank you for seeking me out, it saved a lot of effort on my part.'

'Shut up, you arrogant bastard,' I snapped. 'I'm going to die anyway, so just kill me now and get it over with.'

I received a mental image of him giving a small yawn. 'Boring,' he replied. 'Besides, I unfortunately still need you, and torture is so much more satisfying. You forget, I know what you fear most.'

I clamped down on the bubble of anxiety that floated up inside me, but some of it escaped. Dracula just laughed.

'You have about a minute to make your choice Destiny, or I will make it for you. You have one minute until your brain starts to hemorrhage from lack of air.'

He was right. My vision swam as the air went stale in my lungs. I didn't know what to do. My greatest fear…

'Alright,' I told him, surprised at how soft it came out. He released his hold on my throat and I sagged against him, greedily inhaling the precious air. At that moment, I couldn't have even held a spoon; that's how long I had been without breath.

After a minute or so I was recovered enough that I didn't need Dracula's support to keep upright, and so I pushed away, but he caught me and drew me back.

"With your history of troublemaking, did you honestly think I would let you go anywhere? No my angel," he said, kissing my neck in an abrupt change of mood. I wondered if he was bipolar, "you will not be leaving my side anytime soon."

"Fuck you, jerk," I muttered, looking over his shoulder, and then realizing what I had said, quite literally bit my tongue. Dracula's eyes laughed at me, even though he said nothing.

A whistling noise reached my ears. At first I wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't take too long for me to figure it out. I threw myself to the ground just as an arrow struck Verona in the shoulder. She let out a startled shriek.

More arrows followed and soon I saw people hurrying out of the trees. I had never been gladder to see a noble in my life. Boris and Nonia were accompanied by another man I did not know, but I figured he was the person sent by the Vatican. Maybe it was the fact that he was dressed all in black, or that he could easily blend into the shadows, or possibly…that fact that he seemed to have packed a whole armory into his coat. (AN: yes, this is sarcasm)

Knowing that in my shape I would only get in their way, I whisked behind a tree and looked on hopelessly as they fought the vampires. Boris and the Vatican man focussed on the Brides until Verona, Aleera, and Marishka decided that the shots here coming a little too close to their hearts and flew up to hover above the skirmish.

Nonia, brave and headstrong as she was, had peeled away from the other two at the start and had made a beeline for Dracula, currently in his hellbeast form. I prayed fervently to God that she would walk away from this alive.

As soon as he could afford to, Boris hurried over to help his sister, who was beginning to tire, even though she kept attacking strong. He shot at Dracula, who turned, causing the bolt to hit his side rather than his dead heart.

With a bellow of rage, Dracula lashed out with one clawed hand. With a cry of pain, Boris went flying across the clearing. Luckily, he landed on grass, not a tree. With Boris currently out of action and even with the man from the Vatican alternating between shooting Dracula and fending off the Brides, Nonia's chances of surviving were looking slimmer and slimmer. I had to do something.

Something glinted in the moonlight. Marishka had pulled my daggers out of her stomach and had stupidly, in typical Marishka style, left them for the taking. Picking them up, I threw first one, then the other at Dracula. The first went sailing right through his wing and glanced off his back, but the second lodged itself deep in the side of his neck.

He turned to see who had thrown the objects and when he saw me standing, bespattered in the blood of Aleera, holding my knife ready to throw, he gave a snarl of anger. But instead of turning his attention to me, as I had hoped in vain for him to do, he grabbed Nonia and sunk his fangs into her neck. Then, like her brother before her, she went sailing across the clearing. But a thick pine halted her flight. Even as far away as I was, I could hear the sickening crack as something broke.

"NONIA!" I screamed. The Vatican agent responded by firing furiously at the Brides, to the point where Dracula actually had to go up and protect them from the wooden volleys. I never even noticed their departure. Running over to the tree, I saw Nonia had her eyes open some. My eyes misted over, but I took her hand. Her neck wound bled sluggishly.

"I knew he couldn't kill you," I whispered, injecting false certainty into my voice. Nonia shook her head very slightly and winced.

"Don't lie to me Destiny. I know I'm dying. He broke my back after he fed on me. I don't have enough blood left."

"I can heal you," I insisted.

"No!" She coughed wetly. "Save it for your own injuries. Besides, I will be able to see my family again."

"That's certainly looking at it optimistically," I agreed. My voice cracked.

"Take this please." She shakily brought a hand up to her neck and yanked on something. She pressed a necklace into my palm, a silver chain with the Valerious House emblem on it. I put it on and looked at Nonia. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling slightly.

A shimmer caught my eye and I stood, looking around. By Nonia's body stood…

Nonia? It looked exactly like her, except pearly whitish and translucent. She waved to me and I waved back, a small smile curling at the corners of my mouth.

"I will miss you, my friend."

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HARD CHAPTER TO WRITE! REALLY REALLY HARD CHAPTER TO WRITE! ARGH! Okay, I've vented. (small polite voice) please review (gives big sad eyes, as puppy-dog eyes don't work if yours are blue) please? Gir? I have a cupcake…with tuna (Invader Zim) Gir plushies for everyone who reviews. Oh, and crackpotjoe? 

Your dungeons are full of yogurt and there are turnips in your bathtubs. (didn't expect that did ya? HAH)


	25. Blood Poisoning

Chapter 25: Blood Poisoning

AN: Lala, my muse is back. Yes Crackpotjoe, I RESCUED MY MUSES. They are mine again. But they had some farewell presents for you (pelts crackpotjoe with yogurt, cheese, and milk bombs) Take that! Lactoselactoselactose. And some more lactose! WEEEEE (runs away)

Oh, and I have a new goal: I'd freaking DIE if I made it to 300 reviews. Geez, I'd have to write a special present for you guys or something. Please help me reach that dream and review!

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I turned from Nonia's body dry-eyed. I had no more tears left to shed. The Vatican agent was helping Boris up from the ground, a sight that I was glad to see. If Boris had been taken too, I don't know what I would have done. I certainly didn't trust this strange man, for all that he claimed he was sent to help. It could easily be a trick.

Walking over, I saw that Boris had a hand over his right eye. Blood and fluid seeped around his fingers. Dracula's claws must have punctured his eye when he attacked him.

"Here Boris" I said, removing his hand. I was right; it was a splendid mess. But it was not a lost cause. "Let me heal it." Placing my own hand over where his eye used to be, I concentrated hard on a desire to have the injury mend. It was the first time I had ever healed intentionally and I wasn't quite sure how to do it.

Soft white light glowed briefly around my hand before it dispersed into Boris's skin. After a few seconds, I dared to take my hand away.

At this point, a little more blood on my clothes wouldn't matter, so I used my sleeve to wipe his away from the area. To my relief, there was scar tissue, rather than an empty socket. That would have been too much for me. Tearing a clean swath of cloth from my hem, I tied it around his head.

"There" I declared, stepping back. "Maybe in Kiev we can get you a patch, but this'll have to do for now."

"Thank you" said Boris gratefully. He frowned and looked at me. "You need to heal yourself though. Those aren't minor you know." But I just brushed the comment off.

"I'm a fast healer and I'll have time for that later. Right now we need to give Nonia a decent funeral."

Boris bowed his head and was silent for a moment. He looked over at where his sister's body lay and I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. But if there was, it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"She always knew she'd die in battle" he said with a sigh. "And she did, fighting Dracula himself. It's a family tradition after all." He tried to smile, but couldn't.

I laid a hand on his shoulder, though I had to reach up to do so. Everyone was always taller than me!

"If it helps any" I said gently"I saw her spirit right after she…died." I almost couldn't bring myself to say the word, as if not saying it would somehow bring her back. "She waved to me. I know she's with the rest of your family now." Boris smiled.

"She probably is." He looked at her body again. "The best thing to do would be to build a pyre. We don't have time to dig a grave."

And so we burned Nonia on the 'battlefield' where she died. And when the flames burned themselves out, we put her ashes in a flask and buried in by the pine tree where she died.

I turned to the man from the Vatican. "So. You fight vampires, build pyres, rescue people. All in a day's work for you? Just who are you anyway" And I fixed him with a steady, measuring look. He was tall, of course, with short brown hair and green eyes. The fact that he had a trustworthy face made me immediately suspicious of him, even though I knew he was probably genuine.

"My name is Damon. I serve the Knights of the Holy Order in Rome."

I tilted my head, considering the man before me, then giving him a curt nod I said"Good. Now you can help me track Dracula down." It took a few seconds for the men to realize what I had said.

"WHAT" Boris exploded. "Are you out of your mind" he grabbed my shoulders and shook them. "You are in absolutely no condition for another fight woman! He already killed Nonia. Do you want to die too"

I just stared as him, my eyes steady and blank. He released me and spun away, talking furiously.

"Damon, knock some sense into this girl! Destiny, you're going to Rome. The whole point of this trip was to run _from_ Dracula, not seek him out on a suicide mission! Which is what will happen if you leave"

My hands on my hips, I challenged him. "And what, or who, is to stop me from leaving, pray tell? Last time I looked I was the only one with wings." A large gloved hand locked on my arm.

"I am" said Damon. "I'm not going back to Rome empty handed and if I have to tie you up and carry you the whole way, then so be it. And I have the better arsenal."

We glared at each other for a while, neither wanting to relent and admit defeat to the other. The throb of my wounds soon convinced me otherwise.

"Ouch. Oh great" I muttered, looking down at the damage. There was blood everywhere, some old and some new seeping still from the holes in my arms, the gash across my collarbone, and three parallel lines that raked across my back. Quickly, I knitted the skin and muscle back together.

It was dawn when we reached Kiev. I hated the city on site (AN: sorry if you live in Kiev. I need this opinion for my story). For a girl raised in the black wild forest of Romania, where mountains always reared their heads in the distance, this gray, hard city was utterly depressing. I stayed silent as Damon led us to a stayhouse.

It was a single underground room; dark and made of stone. In one corner there was a small table and a couple of spindly chairs. In another was a narrow truckle bed, clearly only meant for catching a few hours of rest, not comfort.

Damon locked the door after us and went over to start a fire in the small fireplace. "Don't worry" he said. "This chimney connects with another one so that the smoke exits from the same place. No one will notice it that way. We'll stay here through the night and then tomorrow at first light we'll catch a train to Rome."

I nodded absently and then shivered. It seemed to me that the fire wasn't doing anything to warm the room up. I shuddered again.

"Oh great" said Boris, sounding annoyed. "Please don't tell me you're sick." But he gave me his coat and sat me near the fireplace anyway, so I could tell he didn't really mean it.

"I don't think I'm sick. It's probably that I just flew too much in the cold and overextended myself fighting, or something like that. I'll be fine." But I wasn't fine. My body couldn't make up its mind as to whether I was too hot or too cold, and my head had begun to hurt. The wounds from Aleera ached abominably. I didn't even notice Damon feeling my forehead. He swore.

"Boris" he called. "She's got a fever." I head Boris swear too. Wondering why I was sick, I checked my injuries and stifled a small gasp. Angry streaks of red twisted their way outwards along my skin from each injury. It was as if I had blood poisoning or someth–

I did. I remembered after the fight how I'd been covered in Aleera's blood too. Her vampire blood. And because I'd stupidly waited to heal myself her blood had gotten into my system. The two blood types were fighting each other and my veins were the battleground.

"Shit."

"What"

"I have blood poisoning from Aleera. It's…um…at odds with my angel blood." That was putting it mildly.

I don't remember much of what happened next, or how long anything took, or who was there. Quite honestly I didn't care. I was too wrapped up in my delirium to notice anything around me.

I was standing in a ghostly hall. It was both dark and light at the same time and had a solid transparency to it. It was, basically, near impossible to describe. Another corridor intersected the one I was standing on. Something – no, some_one_ walked along it. I followed them, running to keep up. At a dead end, that person turned.

It was a young woman. She stood around my height and she had a kind round face. Somehow I knew that if she were alive, she would have dark brown hair and mid-brown eyes, much like I used to have. In fact, we used to share a lot of the same traits.

She touched my cheek with a ghostly hand. "I knew I would see you some day. I just didn't think it would be like this" she murmured. It clicked in my head.

"Are you my mother" I asked. She smiled gently.

"I am. But you can call me Melinda. I know you never knew me."

I had never wondered about my real mother. Katrina had been all the mother I could have hoped for. But now that I had found her, I was filled with a million questions.

"How did you die so young"

Melinda made a face. "I was stupid. Not long after I got married and had a child, I went for a walk. It was too close to evening." She was absently fingering her neck. I glowered.

"Don't even tell me it was a vampire. I've had too many dealings with them lately."

Melinda gave me a sympathetic smile. "I have to go Destiny. I just wanted to see you." I gave her a hug. It was weird, hugging the mother who both more and less my mother than the woman who raised me. Then she was gone.

I looked down at my empty arms and was surprised to notice that the pendant Nonia had given me was shimmering. I looked up and jumped. Nonia was staring back at me, smiling.

"Scared you" I nodded, one hand over my rapidly beating heart. "Sorry about that. Well, actually, I'm not, but I can pretend to be."

I gave a laugh. Death had not changed her in the slightest. "What are you doing here Nonia"

"Looking out for you. Why didn't you heal yourself sooner" she demanded. "You've gone and gotten yourself pretty damn sick."

"I noticed" I said dryly.

"Well, don't take that thing off okay" She pointed to the necklace. "I can track you, make sure you don't pull too many stupid stunts."

I grinned. "Now what makes you think I'd do something stupid and reckless and dangerous"

"Hmph. Well, you have to be getting back now or you'll miss your train. And that wouldn't have good results." Nonia gave me a quick hug before I felt the darkness starting to dissolve.

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Remember: 300 reviews, so please review! It makes me smile and I really need to smile right now. It's not that easy. 


	26. Caught

Chapter 26: Caught

AN: YAY! HAPPY! My writer's block is finally gone (for the time being. Knock on wood) I'm so extremely sorry that I've been so late in posting, but on top of writer's block I also managed to come down with a sinus infection (not fun) and some sort of stomach bug that's going around. It's kinda hard to write if you're constantly vomiting. (also not fun) I thank you guys for being so patient with me and I'm sorry the chapter's not longer, but I figures you guys would rather have a shorter one up than have to wait until I wrote another piece to it. (who knows how long that would have taken) Oh, and in this chappie we get re-aquatinted with a certain vampire. That's all I'm telling you, so you'll just have to read and find out. Also, here's the current news:

if any one wants to see what Destiny looks like, email me at and I'll send them a picture or two. I

f you have anything in particular that you'd like to see in the sequel, Hand of Fate (I think that's what I'll call it), then you can also send it to me via email or review. I'd love to have your input.

Review please!

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"How long have I been out?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my head. Boris glanced in my direction.

"Well, I'll say this for you. You may be foolish, but you've got impeccable timing. Damon just went to get the train tickets. He should be back any minute. Oh, right. You've been out for about a day. You almost died you know."

"Even angels were not meant to live forever," I whispered to myself.

He got up and walked over to me, placing one large hand on my forehead. "Yeah, fever's gone down. I guess you'll be all right to travel." I couldn't put a name to the underlying emotion I detected in his voice. It was sort of a combination of regret and something else.

"Yeah." For my own part I knew I would miss him, in an almost brotherly way. He'd looked out for me, you know? It would be weird not having him to argue with.

"I saw Nonia."

He looked at me sharply. "That's impossible."

I raised an eyebrow. "Then I guess my purpose in life is to defy the impossible, because I did see her and I did talk to her. She said she'd watch over me if I kept this on," I showed him the necklace, "Said she wanted to make sure I didn't do too many stupid things."

Boris gave a small laugh. "That does sound like Nonia." An awkward silence stretched the distance between us. Then Boris did something I never in a million years thought he would do.

He gave me a hug. "I'll miss you, you know. You're annoying, but…"

I grinned. "And you're irritating, so I guess we're even. Just don't get too cocky now that you've got yourself some battle wounds. I might just fly out especially to deflate your ego."

"You have a talent for that, I've noticed." But he was smiling. At that moment, the door to the room opened and Damon walked in.

"Oh, so you're up already," he said. "Good. Time to go." I glanced back at Boris, who made a shooing motion.

"Go on. You'll miss your train." I had a funny feeling in my stomach, like I'd never see him again. But I followed Damon out to the train station. Travelling by train, it would take us a week to get to Rome. Damon didn't appear to notice, but my finely attuned sixth sense caught the distinct aura of vampires.

"Damon," I whispered, tugging at his sleeve.

"What?" he whispered back, a little irritated. I didn't know why.

"Damon, this station's crawling with vampires. They're everywhere." He didn't reply, but by the way his eyes were scanning the platform, I knew he was inwardly cursing. I was very grateful for my disguise and blessed Nonia for dying my hair.

Wearing a shapeless rust colored dress and large apron helped downplay my pregnancy, while my hair was pulled severely back in a bun and wrapped with a length of cloth. I think that even Dracula wouldn't have recognized me that that moment. Well, maybe Dracula, but certainly not any other vampire. But just in case, Damon had outfitted me with a mini-armory of my own: two this daggers in leg sheaths, two more hidden in sheaths up my sleeves, and one that hung on a cord around my neck. It was not much protection should we run into a group of vampires, but it felt comforting nonetheless.

We boarded the train without hassle and took our seats near the rear of the train. Damon was about to sit down when I slid sideways, under the arm he had braced against another seat, and into the window seat. I smirked at him. He just shook his head and sat down. We had arrived just barely on time, for it had not been five minutes when the train began to move.

I relaxed against the seat and closed my eyes, hoping to finally be able to sleep in peace, not thrashing in feverish dreams or plagued by Dracula and his lusts. However, a natural sleep apparently was not my fate. My mind began to wander over the miles that now must separate me from the count. Why must my thoughts always return to him? I was so torn in my feelings for him. My mind insisted that I fear him, my conscious dictated that I hate him with all my soul, yet, my heart wanted me to love him with my whole being. It was so confusing and I never knew what to feel.

I was startled out of my reflections by the feeling of a tiny foot kicking against my abdomen. I couldn't help it; my eyes filled with tears. Vladislaus should have been here to see. But this was for the best. (AN: yes, the names symbolize something. Dracula indicates fear or direct hatred, the count is for distant hatred, and Vladislaus is, of course, love)

It had been three days of traveling and nothing had yet gone wrong. I felt tenser and more bothered with each passing minute. Something should have happened by now; something should have gone wrong. It's not to say that I wished for something to go wrong, but I knew Dracula probably even better than his Brides. He was not a vampire to give up, and with his cunning…some plan would undoubtedly be set into motion soon.

On the fourth day we stopped to pick up more passengers. As I watched them get on, I could sense vampiric auras. They were literally giving me a headache. I could feel their minds searching for me, so I made myself as mentally "small" as I could and threw up all my shields. But…there! Even in disguise as a first-class passenger I recognized Nerilka. She was second on my list of "Vampires Most Likely to Blow My Cover". If she saw me, it was all over.

"Damon," I spoke out of the corner of my mouth. When he didn't respond (he was asleep) I poked him the ribs. With his finely tuned reflexes and senses, he instantly jerked away.

"We've got a serious problem," I told him quietly. I explained about Nerilka and how she would most likely be able to find me because of our encounter at All Hallows Eve. I could the cogs spinning in his brain even as his jaw muscles tightened in anger/worry.

Deciding to let him think in solitude, I stood and slipped out of my chair towards the sleeping car. It was dusk and I was tired. Once inside, I let out a sight, leaning on the post of one of the bunks, not really paying close attention to my surroundings. But something was not right.

I whirled, picking up the slight shush of a lady's skirts on the floor. There, in the doorway, stood Nerilka with a small smirk on her face.

"So," she said. "Did you really think that you could keep ahead of us for very long? What with nearly every vampire in Europe on the alert I'm surprised you got this far. Lucky for you I found you first." I looked at her in confusion as she closed the car door behind her and walked over to sit on the bunk across from me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Nerilka tucked a strand of her long reddish brown hair behind her ear with another smirk. The gesture reminded me so much of Dracula, right before he was about to pull something tricky.

"What I mean is that I will help you escape," Nerilka said. She laughed as I looked at her in amazed disbelief, my eyes nearly bugging out of my head.

"Okay, what's the catch?" I asked. Vampires always have a hidden agenda. She shook her head.

"No catch Destiny. I have a…_problem_ with Dracula that needs to be remedied."

"What problem?" I sensed a story behind her words and, nosy as I was, I wanted to hear it.

"You know that my sire was sired directly by Dracula, correct?" I nodded. "My sire, Charles, was at first very good friends with Dracula and assisted with a lot of the less desirable jobs needed to keep the vampiric community under control. Almost like a second-in-command, you could say.

"But over the course of about a hundred and fifty years, Charles became dissatisfied with the way things were run. He envisioned a society where vampires were orderly and refined, the peak of society and no longer hidden in the shadows. So, he tried to break from Dracula and form his own coven, but, well, Dracula didn't like that too much. So he killed Charles." Nerilka smiled bitterly.

"Of course, after Charles's death, Dracula did start refining the vampires under him. The hypocrite. I've hated him ever since and that's where you come in." She pointed a long slim finger at me. "Just think what a blow it will be to him if you are lost to him forever, along with the only living children he has."

"One problem," I pointed out. "I've got a monster hunter from the Vatican with me and he's not going to follow whatever scheme you've got up your sleeve."

Nerilka shrugged. "I've dealt with his kind before. I know how their minds work."

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Kay, now please review and help my muse become inspired. And remember, all flames will be used to roast marshmallows. ; P 


	27. Back Again

Chapter 27: Back Again

AN: Yes, I've updated, and yes, I'm sorry about how long it took me to update. But there's a very good reason for that, apart from school causing me to nearly have a literal nervous breakdown. You'll have to read to find out what, but I hope a lot of you will be temporarily appeased (I'm typing this at 12:00 at night. You'd better be). Also, I've been really depressed lately and when that happens, I don't feel much like writing. Actually, I don't feel much like doing anything. But now it's Spring Break (yay), so I hope things'll pick up. Reviews would really help bring up my mood. Again, sorry about the lack of update.

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I left Nerilka in the compartment and went to seek out Damon. When I got back to my seat, I wondered if he'd moved at all in the time that I'd been gone. He sure didn't look like he had.

"What are you doing?" I queried. Damon started, surprised, then turned and glared at me.

"For God's sake don't _do_ that!"

"Don't you mean for your sake? Don't blaspheme." I smacked him on the hand, just to irritate him. Now that our problems seemed to be solved, I was in a playful mood.

"What are you up to?" he asked suspiciously. I just backed up.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Knowing that he would follow, I turned my back on him and walked to a vacant compartment, a better place to break the news.

Damon closed the door after him. "Destiny, what is this about?" he said in a low, tightly controlled voice. I sensed that he was getting frustrated with me.

I propped my chin up on my fists. "You know, that isn't threatening in the least to someone who's lived with vampires," I pointed out calmly. If I read him right, I had about two seconds before he exploded, judging by the rate at which his face was turning red.

Damon clenched his fists, obviously trying to resist the urge to strangle me. "You have about two seconds…" he warned. I sighed.

"All right, all right. Go ahead, ruin my fun. I found us a way out of this mess." I was going to elaborate when Damon yanked me to my feet, ignoring my startled protests.

"Why didn't you say so?" he demanded.

"Because I didn't feel like it dimwit. Now follow me." I led him back to the sleeping car.

I opened the door. Nerilka was still there, sitting on one of the bunks. She rose at our entrance. I could practically feel her distaste when it came to Damon. But that wasn't my problem right now.

"Damon," I said. "This is Nerilka. She's going to –" Before I could get any farther, Daon whipped out a stake and plunged it into Nerilka's breast. She crumbled into dust in a matter of seconds. With a horrified cry, I dropped to my knees.

"You bastard!" I yelled at Damon. "She was going to help us!" I was furious with him.

"Help! Destiny, vampires don't 'help'. They hunt, they kill, they're nothing more than shells where people used to be!" Damon was just as angry in his own right. I shot up, spun, and slapped him as hard as I could, causing his head to snap to the side.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," I hissed, and turned back to the matter of Nerilka's ashes. A tear dripped from my eye. Funny, I hadn't even noticed I was crying. The tear landed on the pile of ashes. Something flared briefly, but was gone as soon as it had come. I gasped softly and scooped her ashes together in my hands.

Ignoring the raging Damon and his demands, I closed my eyes and concentrated. Light flared inside my eyelids and I could feel something growing, pulsing, in my hands. Within a minute I knew I was no longer holding ashes. I opened my eyes. Spots danced before them. When my vision cleared, I stood, swaying slightly. Someone steadied me.

"That was impressive," they said in a low murmur. It was Nerilka, whole again.

"Wow," was all I could say. Reconstructing an entire person really took a lot of work. My momentarily good humor left when I caught sight of Damon glowering darkly at me.

"What, exactly, did you do that for?" he asked. I glared right back at him.

"As I was saying before you staked her, Nerilka is going to help us get out of here." He looked skeptical.

"Well, I don't know if I want to help _him_ anymore," shot Nerilka.

"Who said I wanted you to help me?" was his rejoinder. "Would you guys stop fighting?" I cried, inserting myself between them. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

Nerilka shrugged, as if it made no difference to her. Damon fell silent, but continued to glare at the vampiress. I addressed the air over is shoulder.

"If you're not going to help Damon, you take your stubborn butt back to the Vatican. I really don't need you anymore." He turned red.

"Fine. If you think that you can do better under the guidance of a nightcrawler, then fine! I'd like to see you get to Rome on your own! If you can," he added sort of snidely, then turned on his heels and stormed out of the compartment. Because my back was to her, I didn't see Nerilka smirking at his retreat.

"So what now?" I asked her.

"You come with me," she said simply. I followed her out of the door. "The train is making one final stop tonight before it continues straight to Rome. If you wait 'til then, it will be too late, for the other vampires will have you and you'll be on your way back to Dracula before you can say 'Help'." The thought was sobering.

We waited in Nerilka's private compartment for the train to stop and at midnight, it did. As we exited the train, I noticed a growing sensation of heat in the middle of my chest, right where Nonia's pendant hung. When Nerilka wasn't looking, I took it out and held it in my hands. I was surprised to feel that with every step away from the train that I took, it grew hotter still. It got to the point where I almost couldn't stand the heat of it, but nothing on earth, Heaven, or Hell could make me take it off. I would unravel what it meant later.

Nerilka led me to a respectable looking townhouse in the middle of the city. She whispered a password, or something, to the person at the door and we were let in without a hitch. The inside of the house was well furnished and tastefully decorated, but there was no sign of the owners. The place was unnaturally quiet, but then again, I was overly suspicious of anything that seemed out of place.

I followed Nerilka into a dining room, where a long table was set for two people. Nerilka took one seat, I took the one around the corner from her on her right side. A manservant silently brought out a plate of food and set it before me. He then proceeded to fill Nerilka's glass with blood.

"Eat," she said. "You'll need to keep up your strength." If only I'd know then how right she was. But I didn't, so I ate. It was very good, especially after the makeshift meals I'd had on the road with Nonia and Boris. Let's face it: there's not too much you can make that doesn't take up much pack room and can be eaten cold or cooked over a campfire. At least, nothing that tastes relatively good anyway.

Nerilka was saying something to me, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. Turning towards her, I saw that she wore the smug smirk of an evil cat on her face. A bell went off in my head that something was wrong and the pendant nearly scorched my skin. So _that's_ what it had been trying to tell me.

"Nerilka," my words came out slurred and drowsy, "what –"

Nerilka's smirk grew wider. "Destiny, for one who has lived among vampires, you are much too ready to trust one. And I thank you for that. It made my job a lot easier."

The last conscious thought I had was that she'd drugged me and I'd been a fool to trust her.

My back ached abominably, probably from lying in one position for too long and my skull was pounding. I shifted to my side, trying to get comfortable, but I couldn't. I opened my eyes slowly and was relieved to see that the room I was in was not brightly lit, though one could still see fine in it.

With a groan, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat up, rubbing my eyes. It was then that I remembered what had happened.

"Bitch," I muttered. And I was just as much a naïve little fool for trusting her. I should have listened to Damon. If I had, Nerilka would be dust by now.

Standing, I surveyed the room I was in. It had no windows, a fact that I cursed, but was otherwise a nice room. But the simple elegance of it was wasted upon me. I needed to find out where I was, who was holding me here, how to escape, and how to find Damon, if that were even possible.

I caught sight of myself in the vanity's mirror. The dye that had been in my hair was almost completely faded away and someone had removed the disguise I'd been wearing. Now I wore just a simple white dress. I did not like the thought of some unknown person changing my outfit while I was unconscious.

Sitting down on the vanity's seat, I put my head in my hands, sighing. This was a right sticky mess I'd gotten myself into. So absorbed in thought was I that I did not hear the click of a lock and the sound of the bedroom door opening.

Someone brushed the hair off the back of my neck and stroked it lightly.

"A little upset, are we?" Their voice carried amusement and a hint of triumph. I gave a startled squeak as my head shot up, causing them to laugh.

"They" meant Dracula.

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See? See? I was a good little author and gave you guys what you've been asking me to do, though it near killed my storyline (until my muse though of a solution). So, since she's back with Dracula, as ordered, could you review please? It would really cheer me up. 


	28. Now That I'm Back

Chapter 28: Now That I'm Back…

AN: Well, for once I didn't have writer's block and now I know how to re-direct the story, so be happy. And THANKS YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! 3 Thanks to you guys, I reached my goal of 300 reviews and that's so awesome. Yay! (I'm really happy right now) As promised, I'll post a bonus chapter for you, I just am not sure when since I haven't had any really good ideas. If you have something you'd particularly like to see in it, let me know. I'm always open to suggestions. Thanks again!

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With a yelp, I shot up from the seat, stumbled over it, and backed up until I was clutching one of the bedposts, on the other side of the room of course. Dracula merely watched in amusement.

"Stay away from me," I warned, pointing a trembling finger at him.

"What makes you think that you can stop me?" he asked. I opened my mouth to reply, then, for lack of retort, closed it. He had a point. Along with my disguise, all my daggers had been taken, and he knew it. I sighed.

"Why are you here? Isn't it enough that you've caught me? Do you have to come and rub it in as well?" Dracula seemed genuinely surprised by the question.

"Is that why you think I'm here?" I nodded miserably. "Rest assured that that's not my intent. I merely wanted to check on you, since you've finally awoken." As he spoke, Dracula was walking towards me. I was too confused by his words to move farther away.

"Why aren't you in a towering rage, threatening me and such? That's what you've done in the past. That's how you were last time we saw each other."

He tipped my chin up and I suppressed my instinct to flinch. For a moment we just looked at each other, blue eyes locked with black, unblinking.

"Yes I do have a few wounds to thank you for, don't I?" he said softly. I couldn't quite suppress the shudder that ran down my spine. Memories of his threats of torture were still fresh in my mind. I averted my eyes and closed them, biting my lip as I did so.

Bracing myself, I met his gaze once more, drawing strength from the depths of my being. What would come would come, whether I liked it or not. There was no sense in cowering or displaying weakness. What I did not realize was that I was glowing slightly, but this time it was not from anger.

"How you can find inner peace in your position…" I opened my eyes to see Dracula shaking his head. "I have seen braver men than you cry before me."

Without thinking, I retorted, "Braver men than me haven't had to live with you, now have they?" I smiled wryly. The door to the room opened again to admit Verona.

"So she's up." She smiled, cat-like as always. "It is good to have you back here." I noticed she only said 'here', not 'with us'. She probably hadn't forgiven me yet for running away. Dracula looked over at his Bride.

"Verona, stay here with Destiny. I have other things to attend to." He left, leaving me alone with my surrogate mother, as I used to think of her. Now I wasn't sure is the role applied anymore.

"Really Verona, I'm fine by myself." For now. Or, I amended, at least until Aleera got a hold of me. Verona walked over to me, shaking her head.

"Until we get back to Castle Dracula you are not spending one moment alone." She seemed genuinely apologetic, and I relaxed slightly. I sat down on the bed with a sigh of relief as the weight was taken off of my ankles. Four kids, even unborn, aren't exactly featherweights.

"Destiny, why did you run away?" Verona's voice carried a hint of sad curiosity. She had seated herself at the vanity and was gazing at me solemnly. I looked at the floor, feeling for all the world like a disobedient child who has disappointed her parent.

"I didn't want my children to be used for an evil purpose," I mumbled. "And I was afraid of the effects of his influence on them." Verona was shaking her head once more.

"Destiny, when will you stop trying to fight what already is? It is futile to fight Fate." The corners of her mouth turned upwards in a smile. "You shouldn't worry about his threats my dear. He is too relieved to have you back to risk hurting you more." I looked at her dubiously, but inside I latched onto belief in the truth of that statement.

"Well, Aleera ought to know that she nearly did kill me. That should please her." I gave a small laugh, remembering the fight.

"You two are going to have to work something out if you are going to be living together for as long as you both live." Not if I had any say in the matter. But discussion on _that_ topic was useless. "Now come. Marishka wants to see you too."

I followed obediently, but inside I groaned. Before I ran away, Marishka, being so happy to not be the youngest anymore, had treated me like her baby doll. It was not a role that I particular like, nor wanted to assume again. Again, that's if I had any say in the matter. None of the hallways we walked through had any windows, much to my dismay. I would have at least liked to know where I was, even if I couldn't escape, yet. As it was, I decided not to ask Verona.

She led me to a room furnished in typical Bride style: lots of things in the colors that they wore, each Bride having her own little section of the room which was her personal space. Marishka rose, not quite as gracefully as Verona, when we walked in the room. I heard Verona lock the door behind us and my heart dropped. Now I was stuck in here.

"Destiny," Marishka cooed. Obviously she'd forgiven me for snapping her neck. Either that or forgotten about it. That would be typical of her. I turned my head to the side and looked down as she hugged me, neither accepting nor rejecting her embrace. I was more like a statue than a person. If Marishka didn't notice, I'm sure Verona did, though she said nothing. Verona was like that.

They drew me over to their areas and sat down. Marishka immediately began to plait my hair. Just another thing I had to put up with as her doll/person. Since she couldn't arrange Verona or Aleera's hair, she always had to do it to me. _Why me?_ I thought miserably. _What did I ever do to her?_

"Hello angel," said a voice in a tone I knew all too well. Aleera locked the door once again.

"I see I failed to kill you," she said scornfully.

"Don't worry, you almost did," I shot back. "But you weren't quite good enough."

"One of these days little angel…" Aleera said threateningly. Marishka rolled her eyes at our sniping.

"Will you two stop?" she asked. "Your bickering is annoying me."

"She started it," I pointed out accusingly.

"Well, someone stop it. Preferably now." And she returned to plaiting my hair. I know not how long I remained in there with them. It seemed like an eternity to me before Dracula returned to collect me. I followed him in resigned silence, not really caring where we were going. I didn't even know what time of day, or night, it was and that bothered me.

"Silence does not become you Destiny," he said. I made a face at his back but remained silent.

"So stubborn." Dracula shook his head.

"And why shouldn't I be?" I snapped.

"There's no need to get angry," he responded calmly as we reached the room that was our destination. His room.

"Well if I'm angry, it's your fault!" I stalked into the room. "I don't particularly want to be here."

"You're the one who ran away, then got yourself caught again," he reminded me.

It was true. I had been extremely stupid and now I was paying for it. A wave of sadness washed over me and I sagged against one of the stone walls, trying to stop the tears from coming to my eyes. I wasn't entirely successful and the next thing I knew Dracula was there with his arms around my shoulders.

I had forgotten how good it felt to be in his embrace and, taking full advantage of it, cried into his chest.

"There there my angel," he said soothingly. "I do not like to see you cry."

"Sorry," I said softly, and dried my tears.

"Come. You are over-wearied by all that has happened and the sun is rising anyways." I did not protest as he led me to the coffin that stood alone in the center of the room and helped me in before climbing in himself and closing the lid.

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AN: Well, there's some Drac/Dest fluff for ya. for once, no cliffy. Some of you wre begging me not to do that, as the suspense was killing you. And I'll try to think of something extra nice for the prize chapter. Review please : D 


	29. Here We Go Again

Chapter 29: Here We Go Again

AN: Yes, I'm still alive over here. Severe writer's block coupled with depression makes for one not-very-happy author, which makes for longer time between chappies, which makes for not-very-happy readers. I'm really sorry about that, but all I can ask is that you guys just bear with me for a little bit until I start feeling better. Personally I think this chapter turned out like crap, but after many re-typings it was the best version and I don't think you guys could have waited much longer. : ) Don't worry, I have no intention of dropping this story, even if I am a little slow. Again, many apologies and cookies all around.

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"You're taking an awfully long time in there."

I laughed to myself at the frustrated note in Dracula's voice. In reality, it had only been five minutes. I splashed happily in the tub, thoroughly enjoying the first real bath I'd had in a while. Cold mountain streams do _not_ compare in any way, shape, or form. But I did hurry up.

Dressing, I wrung the water out of my hair and opened the door.

"You know, for someone who's over 300 years old, you sure don't have much patience," I teased.

"It depends on what I'm waiting for." He had a point, but I would not admit that to him while teasing him. Taking his hand in my smaller one, I looked up at my husband thoughtfully. Our relationship was so rocky: one minute I was yelling at him, the next we were engaged in playful banter.

In spite of everything I really did love him, and more that a little guilt weighed on my heart because of that. An angel in a relationship with a vampire was forbidden by the very nature of the species and the realm s they were affiliated with. I couldn't help but feel like I was betraying God in some way, though I was constantly asking for forgiveness.

"What is it?" I just shook my head with a small smile. My stomach rumbled slightly and I sighed in annoyance.

"They're getting hungry," I informed Dracula. He seemed confused at first, but when I pointed to my swollen stomach, he understood.

As he led me out of the room, he said, "I have been meaning to ask you about that. How is it that you can be so sure of their feelings?"

"Well, you can't exactly call it a mother's instinct," I admitted. "It's more like a primitive telepathic bond or something. At that, I can only sense very strong base emotions. And right now they're all annoyed because they're hungry." I rolled my eyes in annoyance of my own, provoking a laugh from Dracula.

"Well then, we mustn't keep them waiting."

I could feel their hunger pushing at the back of my mind. "Please don't."

As I ate, my the wheels in my brain were spinning so fast I was surprised my brain didn't explode. What was to be done about my current situation? I for sure wasn't going to just sit docilely and accept my re-capture. Oh no. I would not.

But how to get out? With no windows and a veritable labyrinth of hallways in this place, not to mention constant chaperoning, I was not going to have an easy time of it. One this was for sure: I was going to get nowhere with Dracula. I was constantly distracted around him, for obvious reasons. Maybe if I went back to the Brides' common room…

"If you wish."

I looked up, startled slightly. I hadn't realized that I had said that last sentence aloud. Panic set in. Had I said anything else? Then common sense took over once more. If I had mentioned anything about escape, surely Dracula would have said something.

If Marishka and Verona thought I was too quiet, they said nothing as well. It was a little easier to concentrate in their presence, but not by much. I thought up bad idea after impossible idea after ludicrous idea for who knows how long.

"Destiny," Aleera purred. I jumped, and forced my heartbeat back to normal. Aleera smiled for having frightened me, however briefly.

"What Aleera?" I asked shortly. I was in no mood for any of her games. There was work to be done.

"I need to…talk to you for a moment." She looked up at the other two Brides. "Alone."

Verona frowned. "Aleera, I do not think it wise –"

"I won't eat her, I promise." Aleera snapped. "I won't even hurt her a little bit."

Verona seemed satisfied by this, for she motioned for Marishka to follow her out of the chamber. I eyed Aleera warily.

"Just what exactly do you want?"

"Don't you know?" Her voice was falsely sweet. I had a half idea, but still shook my head. Aleera's face hardened. "I want you gone," her voice was edged with steel now. "You stole my Master and now you're expecting his children when all of ours hang lifeless from the walls. To say that you've been a thorn in my side is an understatement. I can't stand the sight of you, and I want you as far away from me as possible. I don't care how it's done. Death, escape, whatever. Even if I have to go so far as to break you out of here myself, so long as you never come back."

"Oh, and I'm supposed to believe you because you're just a good citizen trying to help out?" I asked scornfully. Aleera laughed harshly.

"Believe what you want little girl. I'm the only chance you have of ever getting to Rome." I still didn't trust her. Rule number one: Don't trust Aleera. Ever. After the experience with Nerilka I had vowed never to be that naïve again.

"Nothing you say can make me believe you," I stated flatly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You want proof? I'll get you proof. You just worry that nothing leaks out or it'll be both of our heads." With that, she swept angrily out of the room.

I stood there in confusion. Something about that last remark made me want to believe her, even though I knew better than to trust her with anything. But she did have a point. If we were caught (not that I was going along with this, yet) she would be just as guilty as I and would share in my punishment, perhaps even more so because she masterminded the whole thing. In any case, the only thing I could do now was wait.

And wait I did. For two agonizing days I waited, each tense minute seeming like an hour, slowly ticking by. I tried to act normal but my mind would start to wander in the direction of worrying over the what-ifs and everything else that could go wrong. I slept fitfully and ate little. Desperate for some respite, I finally pleaded with Verona to show me the library, a familiar haunt.

Here at least I got some semblance of privacy, wandering around the bookshelves in a bizarre sort of game of hide-and-seek, trying to get out from under surveillance as much as possible. More often though, I would be found sitting in a chair with a book, trying to concentrate on the words but usually failing. The anticipation was killing me.

"You seem preoccupied."

I must have jumped a foot in the air. So wrapped up had I been in my thoughts that I had failed to notice Dracula's approach. Hence the surprise.

"What?" I willed my heartbeat to slow down. Taking a deep, calming breath I said, "Please don't _do_ that." I put the book down and looked at him as he took the seat next to mine. "Did you want something?"

"Not in particular. You have just seemed unusually wearied over the past two days. Is anything wrong?" He seemed genuinely concerned.

I shook my head gently, with a small smile. "No, not really. It's just hormones I think." He looked at me dubiously. "Really, I'm fine. It'll pass within a day or so."

"Good. We will start travelling back to Romania the day after tomorrow." Dracula rose, kissed me lightly on the forehead, and left for another part of the library. His back was to me so he didn't see my cheeks flush. I hated lying to him, but it was necessary. That didn't stop me from feeling rotten about it anyway.

Later that night, Aleera sought me out in the Brides' common room. Verona and Marishka were off somewhere, probably feeding. The fiery vampiress thrust something at me. It was a roll of paper.

"There's you proof," she said in a low voice. I looked down to see a short letter written on it.

Destiny,

I know you have your misgivings, but trust Aleera to help get you out of there. No, this note isn't forged and, again, no I wasn't forced to write it either. Here's proof that this_ proof is real: You stole the window seat that I had wanted. That was really childish. _

Damon

this 

"That's good enough for me, I guess," I told her. Only Damon had been around when I'd stolen his seat.

"Good. We need to get you out of here tonight, as in right now, before we start travelling. It is almost dawn; we'll have to move quickly.

I just nodded and thought,

Here we go again.

* * *

For those who are confused, here's the status of Dest/Drac's relationship: it's mellowed a lot, but is still tender. Destiny's view on Drac: afraid of what he's capable of at times, annoyed with what he does at others, but always she loves him. There, I said it.


	30. Second Chances

Chapter 30: Second Chances

AN: Look! See? I was a good little author and didn't take weeks to update! I am feeling rather special right now. Okay, special feeling's gone and I'm back down on Earth. Not much to say right now, so just go read the chapter right now. I mean it. Stop reading this author's note.

* * *

"Quiet," hissed Aleera. We were making our way down a darkened hallway, a rather spooky one at that. While Aleera's vampiric abilities allowed her to tread completely silently, I was not so gifted. She must have been worried that Dracula would hear a lone pair of footsteps and come to investigate, so I tried to make my already light steps even quieter. I must have succeeded, for she did not mention it again.

I longed to ask her where we were going but dared not for fear of blowing our cover. However, I was fighting a double battle: I also had to concentrate on not letting my fear and nervousness leak to the top of my mind, where Dracula would undoubtedly sense it. I must not have succeeded in either one or the other, or perhaps he was just looking for me, because simultaneously Aleera's and my ears picked up the faintest possible rustle of cloth on cloth.

Aleera shot me a look that said, "Hide!" Spotting an open doorway, I ducked in and hid in the triangular space formed between the back of an overstuffed armchair and the corner of the wall. Taking a deep calming breath helped to slow my heartbeat, which had been racing, and also cleared my mind. I waited, expecting to be discovered at any moment.

From far down the hall (Aleera must have moved), I heard two voices.

"Aleera, have you seen Destiny?" I sighed in relief. It was only Verona, and fortunately, Aleera had the situation covered.

"Verona, why would I even _care_ where the little wench is, much less know? I have other things to do than play babysitter." I could imagine Verona's resigned nod.

"Fine," she said. "But keep an eye out for her." The swish of a dress signified her exit.

I still did not move until Aleera appeared in the doorway of the room. She did not say anything, nor did she have to. I crept out from my hiding place and fell silently into step behind her. Two secret passages, one more close call, and one flight of stairs later, we reached the basement.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked dubiously. Aleera had led me in front of a small tunnel just high enough for me to walk in, too small for a normal person. I heard a rustle of cloth behind me as Aleera crossed her arms in irritation.

"This is the only way to get out of here without being immediately caught. Once you're out of this room, you're on your own." Her tone of voice indicated that she did not think me capable of making it on my own, and she was probably privately hoping that I'd die somewhere along the way.

"Where does it lead?" I asked, really not liking this turn of events. If only there was another way…but there wasn't.

"Listen up, because I'm only going to tell you this once. If you forget, it's not my problem. Follow the tunnel. It'll dead-end into the sewers underneath the city. Oh, quit worrying," she snapped, seeing my disgusted look at the mention of sewers. "They're big, brick, and have small paths on either side for the odd maintenance worker. Anyway, go to the right and walk straight for about 300 yards. You should see a ladder on your right."

"Oh, perfect." That was going to be fun.

"I never said it would be a walk in the park, now did I? Take the ladder all the way to the top and if you've picked the right one, the hole at the top should be open. It'll be located in a back alley. That 'Holy Order' lackey should be there waiting for you."

I sighed, trying to remember all that. "Okay. Thank you Aleera."

She shook her fiery head with a smirk. "Oh, don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for me. And if I _ever_ see you again, I'll kill you. Remember that." She swept out of the room.

"Some things never change," I muttered to myself as I climbed into the tunnel. I kept one hand on the wall, which was both a blessing, since it kept me on course, and a curse, because I was afraid that any minute I would run into some animal's bones. The thought was not a comforting one.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably only five or ten minutes, the tunnel opened up into the city sewers, just as Aleera had said. The 'path' was actually only a three-foot wide brick walkway. Three feet that separated me from the filthy, nearly stagnant sewer water. The smell was atrocious, but the thought of freedom kept me going.

One thing Aleera had neglected to mention was that there were quite a few ladders on this side of the sewer. If I was the slightest bit over or under the 300 yards, I might never find the right ladder. I shivered. Maybe that was her intent, to have me slowly perish in this forsaken place, alone and frightened. I squared my shoulders against the thought. I would not give her the satisfaction of frightening me and if I had to try a thousand ladders, I would do so.

Carefully, I navigated the path, counting the yards as best I could. When the total reached 300, I stopped in front of the ladder that was positioned there. I looked up, trying in vain to see where it led, but was met only with darkness. I would have to take it on faith, and so I slowly started to climb, not an easy task for me at the moment. Soon, I was shrouded in darkness once more.

My hand, groping for another rung, was instead met with something metal. I felt around the edges. It was circular in shape, and just big enough for a man to get through. I pushed upward slightly and felt it give way. Heartened by this, I pushed harder and over to one side. It opened and, looking up, I could see the sky, something I had not seen in who knows how long.

A hand was offered in assistance and not caring whom it was, I took it without question. Once I was out of the hole, I turned to see who had helped me. It was Damon, leaning against the wall of the narrow alley that housed this manhole. I thought my heart would burst in relief. I bit my lip, not sure of what to say.

"Took you long enough," he said wryly. I smiled, glad that he did not appear mad at me for being as stupid as I had been.

"Well, we had a close call. Actually, two, but that's beside the point."

"Yes it is. Come on." He turned and started walking out of the alley. I followed him, basking in the light of false dawn, comforted that the coming day appeared clear of clouds. But behind those feeling lay the apprehension of what was to come. Any moment now, Dracula would discover my absence. Any moment now I would feel his rage.

Damon stopped, but I, not paying attention, ran smack into him. He had stopped before a nondescript-looking carriage. Opening the door, he beckoned silently for me to get in. He followed, closing the door after him. I sagged against the seat with a sigh as the carriage began to move.

"You were extremely stupid, you know that?" I winced, having anticipated this conversation.

"I know I know I know. Do you think I haven't kicked myself about that a hundred times over?" I crossed my arms and looked out the window. "You don't know how confusing it was to be back there."

"Confusing?" Damon's tone was very suspicious. I kicked myself for that slip of the tongue.

"It's nothing."

"On the contrary," he pressed, "I think it's everything."

"Just leave it okay?" I snapped. I really didn't want to explain to a demon hunter from Rome that I still loved the vampire I was running from. He wouldn't understand at all, and he'd probably get angry with me. I wanted to avoid bearing the brunt of any more anger than I had to. Any moment now…

Sometimes I hated being right, especially when it ended in pain. For a moment, I would just barely feel his presence in the back of my mind before, without warning, I was caught up in the red flood that was his rage. I screamed, hands over my ears, trying futilely to block it all out. He was yelling at me with words that were not words at all.

With a moment of sickening realization, I knew that this was why Aleera had helped me escape. She had wanted me to feel all of this pain just when I had thought myself finally safe and free of it. And if I was accidentally killed in the process, she would shed absolutely no tears over my grave. In fact, she would probably dance on it.

Someone was shaking me roughly and in my delirium, I thought it was Dracula. Shaking my head from side to side, I tried to escape their hold to no avail. Finally, they slapped me and my eyes snapped open.

Damon loomed over me, concern written on his face. Realizing where I was, I was able to summon what strength I had left and kick Dracula out of my mind.

"Are you all right?" Damon asked.

"For now." I was surprised at how hoarse my voice was. But screaming will do that to you. He resumed his seat on the other side of the carriage.

"Why don't you try and rest for a while," he suggested. "It's going to be a pretty long ride.

After a few days of travelling, we finally stopped. Damon opened the door of the carriage and we stepped out into a large sunlit courtyard. It was circled by buildings of a most unusual design, one with many pillars and arches, all out of stone. He led me to the largest one, the one with a dome on top. This, then, must be the Vatican.

Once inside, he practically had to drag me along, because I wanted to stop and look at everything. It was all so beautiful. My country-bred eyes weren't used to seeing so much gold. We stopped at a small wooden confessional. Damon went in and I heard his voice through the curtain.

"Bless me father, for I have sinned." I heard the whir of something being lifted; obviously the phrase was some sort of password of something. Damon poked his head out of the curtain.

"Come on Destiny," he said. Surely there wasn't enough room two people in the confessional. I was quickly proven wrong as I saw that one wall of the tiny room was gone and in its place was a stone passageway. An aging man in red with a white-streaked beard was waiting for us. Damon motioned for me to follow him.

"Is this her?" the man asked, his strong voice at odds with his appearance.

"Yes Cardinal Claudius, this is Destiny. Destiny, meet Cardinal Claudius. He is the head of the Knights of the Holy Order."

The cardinal turned to me with a warm smile.

"Then Destiny," he said, "Welcome to Rome."

* * *

Well, she's finally in Rome. Took a while, didn't it? Cookies to everyone who reviews.;D 


	31. Not All That Is Hidden Is Good

Chapter 31: Not All That Is Hidden Is Good

AN: Well, another chapter done. Not much to say right now except that I would really appreciate any ideas for the sequel. Oh, and for those of you who were wondering (I have gotten this question in a few reviews), Destiny's in her seventh month. Not long now…

* * *

"Welcome to Rome," the cardinal said kindly. I smiled in relief. I was finally here. Finally safe. He turned and began walking down the stairs, talking as we descended.

"This, obviously, is the headquarters for the Holy Order, as well as a place where great minds from across the globe can come and work on some of their more controversial inventions." Right as he said that, something exploded in the back of the room we were entering, sending up a plume of green smoke. The cardinal didn't even twitch.

"If you would be so kind as to fill me in on the details of your situation, I would be most grateful." I shot a sidelong glance at Damon. What didn't they know? Weren't they informed? "We received news that a young woman with child needed protection from a vampire, Dracula, to be specific."

I winced. That was a severely edited version of my history, leaving out pretty much all of the controversial elements. This was defiantly going to be interesting.

"Cardinal, if I could tell you in a place that's a little more private?" The less people who were privy to this information, the better. The cardinal would know whom to tell.

He nodded and led us to a study liberally decorated with holy artifacts and tapestries. Sitting down, he indicated for us to do the same. Damon sat, but I remained standing. The cardinal pulled a pair of half-moon glasses out of his desk drawer and put them on as he prepared to record what I told him. However, I was too nervous to make the first move.

"Come child," he said. "Do not be scared. Now, just to get the story in its entirety, why do you need Rome's protection?"

"Because I'm on the run form Dracula."

"Who is?" He knew, sort of, but obviously wanted to hear it directly from me for some reason.

"The first vampire, also called the son of the Devil." He looked more than a little disturbed. I could sympathize, but it also made me wonder what his reaction was going to be when we got to the heart of the problem.

"And why is it that he pursues you?" Well, there was just no help for it. I was just going to have to jump right in.

"Because I'm carrying his children," I said bluntly.

"Okay." The cardinal wrote it down. Then he froze, looked up at me, then down at what he had written, and finally back at me again. The look on his face said he didn't want to believe me, even though my condition was evident.

"But, that's not possible," he said in a strangled whisper. "An immortal and a mortal…it's not physically possible." I sighed, swinging my arms at my sides.

"Well, see that's the catch: I'm not mortal anymore." His eyes widened.

"Anymore?"

"I'm an angel." If I thought his eyes couldn't possible get any wider, I was proved wrong when I grew my wings as proof of my statement. The poor man was probably going to have a heart attack from all this. Retracting my wings, I looked sideways at Damon. He was leaning his chair against the wall, apparently asleep. I snorted. Some help he was.

"I'm going to have to call a meeting about this, I'm afraid." The cardinal was speaking again. A meeting? That meant there was a chance of refusing me protection, because there were undoubtedly other cardinals in the Holy Order who were sticklers for the 'right' way of things. This situation didn't have a chance of falling under that category.

"Wait," I pleaded. "Just, please, hear the rest of my story." I explained about the werewolf escape (an edited version), my escape, the slaughter of my village, the fight with the vampires, Nonia's death, being recaptured, and the second escape.

"See?" I finished. "I want my children to grow up outside of Dracula's influence. I want them to be hunters of the dark, not servants of it." I waited anxiously for the cardinal's reply. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, eyes closed.

"That is quite a story," he said at last. "But I still must call a meeting about this. Damon," and at this Damon raised his head, "can show you a room where you will be allowed to stay until we decide what to do."

With those ominous words hanging in the air, he left. Worried, I turned to Damon.

"How likely is it that they'll kick me out?"

"Not likely," he was quick to assure me, but I sensed his doubts and didn't like it at all. "Well, follow me." We too left the room.

Damon led me back through the inventing room, warning me not to get too close to anything, for my sake.

"I can speak from personal experience." But when I pressed him for details, he refused to be forthcoming. It annoyed me to no end that he'd pique my curiosity like that and then just leave me hanging.

"You are infuriating." I informed him matter-of-factly, eliciting a chuckle out of him.

"Not so much as you," he returned.

"Real witty."

"Thank you."

"Hmph." I snorted in derision.

"Oh, that's real lady-like."

"Damon, I fly, I fight vampires with knives, I escape through sewers, do you think I honestly care about 'being a lady'? _Pft_. That's nonsense." I waved the comment aside. "Wow this room is far."

"We're here, actually."

"Oh. Well then…" I peered in the open door. The room was small but cozy enough, if simple. But I like that. It reminded me of my childhood home. I wondered how long the cardinals were going to take. Probably a while, if I knew religious people. It would be a heated discussion, one that would be very entertaining to listen to, if the stakes weren't so high.

"Um, Damon?" Turning around, I cocked my head up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Where is the most likely place to hold a meeting between cardinals?" I asked innocently, knowing it would not fool him for a minute. Nor was it supposed to.

"Now Destiny," he chided. "Eavesdropping is not condoned here. I really can't tell you –"

"Please?"

"What I can tell you is to not turn left and follow this corridor. Don't take the third passage to your right. And whatever you do, don't stop outside the second door on you left." He winked at me and left. I watched him go, grinning.

Of course, I did what I 'wasn't' supposed to do, following this corridor left from my room, taking the third passage to my right, and stopping in a niche outside the second door on my left. To my extreme good fortune, the door was cracked a little and the people inside were making no attempt to be quiet.

"What we can't do is allow her to stay here! It simply isn't natural."

"I quite agree. Mortals are not supposed to become angels and under no circumstances are they to get involved with vampires! The son of the Devil no less!"

"She did help cure an innocent man of being a werewolf and helped him escape, at great risk to herself. That's got to count for something, if only as a measure of her character."

At least someone was on my side.

"But she got a member of a noble house killed."

"The woman died fighting vampires, like all her family before her. That's hardly this girl's fault."

"Be that as it may, we cannot allow more demons into this world. Don't we have enough to deal with already?"

"There's no guarantee that they will have demonic characteristics."

"There's no guarantee that they won't! They would be half angel, half vampire; abominations!"

That got me mad. My children were not abominations. Outside the door, I seethed in anger.

"However, as members of the church we cannot fail in our duty to protect God's children. What would _we_ be if we denied sanctuary to one who so desperately needs it? Would you send her out there to die!"

Well, I probably wouldn't die yet. I'd be killed once the children were able to survive on their own. Still, the thought was not a pleasant one. I noticed that the room had gone quiet after the last cardinal's outburst. I could imagine what was running through their minds. Did they really want my blood on their hands? Did they want my death on their consciences?

In the corridor outside, I held my breath and waited.

* * *

O.O what's it gonna be? Is she going to stay or will she be forced to go? I wonder…. 


	32. Friendship

Chapter 32: Friendship

AN: Sorry for being away for so long and not having a hugely long chapter to show for it, but in reality this is just sort of a filler chapter in between two moments of action (or suspense, or something). Anyway, I do have some good news. Remember how I said I was depressed? Well, I've entered a program that will hopefully help me get better. Thanks for not giving up on me updating, and wish me luck! (fingers crossed)

* * *

It seemed like an eternity before the discussion resumed, but I noticed that it was not fueled by hot tempers anymore. No, the cardinals had become pensive, thinking the situation over carefully. More of them seemed to be on my side. Cardinal Claudius had not said anything up until this point, but in the lull following the last cardinal's statement, he chose to finally speak up.

"Unlike you, I have met the child personally," he said in a thoughtful tone. I could easily imagine him stroking his beard. "Whatever the parentage of these children, their future is not yet set in stone. In fact, that is the exact reason that she is here, to protect her children from this Dracula's negative influence. Therefore we cannot automatically assume the worst will happen."

"That's right," another cardinal added. I recognized his voice as the one who had first defended me. "Why should we not give her a chance? We can decide later what to do about any complications that arise." There was a rustle of robes as someone shifted in their seat.

"Then we vote," Claudius said gravely. "All in favor?" There was a pause. "All opposed?" Another pause followed. It was impossible for me to tell the verdict and they would adjourn soon. That meant that I had to hightail it back to my room if I didn't want to get caught, so quietly I stole back to my room to await the news, be it bad or good.

I did not have to wait long, and that told me that I had gotten away just in time. It had been close. There was a soft yet authoritative knock on the door to my room. Rising slowly from my position on the bed, I made my way across the room and opened it to reveal Cardinal Claudius standing there, a small smile upon his face.

"The news is good then?" I asked hopefully. His smile broadened and he replied, "Yes. I would like to formally extend to you the protection of the Vatican." There are no words to describe the amount of relief that I felt upon hearing that phrase. I sagged against the doorframe in relief.

"Thank you," I whispered.

As he walked away, I wondered idly what I would do in the roughly two months I had before I was due. Amazing that I had even been able to keep track of time, really. As it was, I soon found a kindred spirit.

It was two weeks into my stay at the Vatican, two long weeks of roaming the halls silently, much as I had once done at Castle Dracula. The location was radically different, but, besides pray, there was not much to do around the Vatican.

Until, that is, I met Allison.

I had gone back down to the Order's workroom a few times, simply because it was such an interesting place, but each time they'd chased me out, muttering something about how it was too dangerous a place for someone 'of my condition'. I scoffed. People always underestimated the abilities of pregnant women, a view that I extremely resented.

The third time I went down there was different. Everybody was too busy to notice me that day, or, for that matter, the three-year-old boy running around beneath their noses. He was the cutest little thing with chubby little cheeks and light blonde hair, but I pitied his mother. Currently, he was trying to shove his little hands into anything and everything that he found interesting.

Including a box of heavy (for him) tools. Rather than let him drop a wrench on his foot, I scooped him up.

"Hey there little guy," I said, taking the wrench from him gently. "Let's not hurt ourself, okay?" I carried him to the edge of the room and looked around. "Now where's your mother?" I wondered aloud.

"Mama?" he asked.

"Yes, you mother," I told him absently.

"Carl!" A woman with dark blonde hair rushed over. "Thank you for finding Carl," she told me as I handed the boy over to her. "He's constantly running off. This is the fourth time in two weeks." Her tone held no small amount of exasperation and I smiled.

"It's no problem," I told her. "I'm Destiny."

"Destiny…"her voice trailed off. "Oh yes, that girl who arrived not two weeks ago?" I nodded. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Allison and this little bundle of trouble here is my youngest, Carl. I swear, my other two were never this mischievous."

This elected a laugh out of me and I sensed that Allison and I would get along quite well.

And we did. Over the course of the next two weeks, our friendship grew and blossomed. Towards the end of June, she showed me her favorite part of the Vatican: one of its gardens.

"The monks grow herbs and such over there," she said, pointed in the correct direction. "But I like to sit surrounded by flowers."

She led me to the middle of the garden where a beautifully sculpted fountain lay, it's spout in the shape of a girl pouring out a water jug. Around it grew a multitude of flowers. Some I recognized, like roses, tulips, and daffodils, and some were new to me.

As we watched little Carl run around, Allison turned to me. "Destiny, I know I have no right to pry, but what makes you so sad all the time?" I had never told her exactly why I was here.

"I left the man I loved behind," I said softly.

"Why?" she asked, just as soft.

"He was not someone you wanted to cross for any reason and I worried about his influence on my children. It was not an easy decision for me to make."

"Of course not. I know that there's a lot you're not telling me, but you probably did the right thing."

I watched Carl try to catch water droplets spraying out of the fountain.

'I hope so,' I thought to myself. Aloud I said, "Sometimes I ask God why I went through what I did. I've never gotten a straight answer, but then again, the situation was very complicated."

"Perhaps He knew that you would be the only one strong enough to withstand it," she suggested, putting a comforting had on my shoulder. Everything happens for a reason, even if that reason is unclear. Just have faith that everything will work out all right and it will." A tear slipped from my eye, then another. Allison drew me to her and held me while I cried.

"I miss him," I said brokenly, trying to speak through my tears. My stomach was clenched from crying. I put my head on her shoulder with a sigh as my stomach clenched again.

I jerked away as my brain finally realized what was going on.

I was going into labor, and I was a month early.

* * *

Uh-oh. I wonder how this is going to go? 


	33. Birth

Chapter 33: Birth

AN: Oops. Sorry I've been away for so long. This was a really hard chappie to write, seeing as I've never experienced childbirth and consequently don't really know diddley about it, save for what I've seen on TV. So pardon me if it's badly written. Again, sorry for the absence. Love ya' guys! (Reviews make me a happy camper)

Oh, P.S.: IDEAS FOR THE SEQUEL! HELP!

* * *

"What is it Destiny?" Allison asked, concern etched on her face. I shuddered as the contraction lessened, unconsciously placing a hand on my stomach.

"I need a midwife," I said, turning to look at her. Her face turned as white as mine felt.

"Are you –?"

"Yes."

Before I knew quite what was happening, Allison had grabbed Carl in one arm and, putting her other around my shoulders, was ushering me inside and to my room.

"Lie down," she commanded, which I was all too happy to do. "I'm going for the midwife. I'll be back in a few minutes."

And so I waited, gritting my teeth at the onset of each of the contraction, which were getting progressively stronger. As much as I wanted my babies to be born, I suddenly didn't want to be pregnant. It hurt too much.

The midwife arrived a few minutes later. She struck me as the type who would book no nonsense from anybody, with her steel grey hair pulled tightly away from her sharply angled face in a severe bun and her mouth pursed tightly. I wasn't planning on giving her any anyway.

Three hours passed, three long, agonizing hours. What I wouldn't have given for some sort of painkiller right then. Thank goodness for Allison's presence. Without her, I surely would have gone mad from boredom. It was Allison who told me funny stories about Carl, Allison who gently wiped my brow with a cool cloth, and Allison who let me practically break her hand with every stab of pain. She was a real blessing.

After another hour, I couldn't take the pain anymore and so I retreated into the depths my mind, unwittingly dropping all my mental shields in the process.

The room I was in was small, like a study or something, and I was lying down on a couch along one wall. A fire in the fireplace threw deep shadows into the corners of the room, but for now that didn't bother me. I was just glad to be away from the pain.

The midwife looked over at her charge, concerned by her sudden silence. Destiny looked as if she was sleeping peacefully, eyes closed, breathing evenly, as if a few moments ago she hadn't been caught up in the pangs of labor. It unnerved the midwife. It just wasn't natural.

I sighed in relief and closed my eyes. After a few moments, I sensed another presence in the room with me. I was angry. Who dared invade my mind at this time? Opening my eyes, I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around. What I found made my eyes turn as round as saucers.

Dracula was leaning against the wall in one of the shadowy corners, watching me. Not doing anything, just watching.

I was sooooo dead. And yet, my heart leapt at the sight of him, after being separated for what seemed like an eternity. I struggled to push myself into a seated position and then he was there, gently grabbing my elbow to help keep me balanced. I looked at him in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" I asked softly, trying to keep all of my conflicting emotions out my voice.

"What, am I not allowed to witness the birth of my children?" he asked wryly. "Or are you going to take that away too?"

"No! Of course not," I exclaimed. "I might've run away, again, but I'd never try to keep something like that from you," I continued honestly. I could have been readying his body language wrong, but he seemed to relax slightly at my words. In relief? Relief from what? Had he actually been afraid my answer would have been no? Surely my mind wasn't that_ strong that I could keep him out. _

We lapsed into silence, broken only by the occasional crackle from the fireplace. I stared into it gloomily, wrapped in my own heavy thoughts. It took me a few moments to realize that Dracula was talking to me.

"Huh?" I asked, turning to look at him. His mouth twitched in the faintest hint of a smile (or smirk, knowing him).

"I said, you seem unusually depressed. What's wrong?" he asked, brow furrowing as he studied my face. I tucked myself closer to him.

"I think I'm going to die," I said in a small voice, too soft for even him to really hear.

"Hmm?"

"I think that this is going to kill me."

He jerked away in surprise. My head flew up, as surprised by his reaction as he was by my words.

"You think WHAT?"

I opened my mouth to repeat it, but he put a silencing finger to my lips and I kept quiet.

"Just why_ would you think such a thing?" he asked. _

"Do you know how much it hurts?" I demanded, and opened the part of my mind that housed that feeling. Dracula raised his eyebrows.

"I actually pity mortal women if that's normal in childbirth," he remarked.

"You wouldn't be so objective about it if you were in my shoes," I grumbled. He just smirked infuriatingly.

"Urgh, you drive me crazy." But I was smiling as I said it. I tentatively rested my head on his shoulder and we just sat there, not really sure of what to say to each other, until I felt like I'd better be getting back.

Lying back down, I said, "I have to go now. You can stay, if you want."

thatwhy 

I came back right in the middle of a contraction, a bad one. I bit back a yelp and felt a mental hand on my shoulder. I knew that Dracula was still in my mind, watching, but I was busy with other things. Allison's face came into my line of vision.

"Destiny! Thank goodness you're awake. You had me worried there."

"How long was I out?" Time passed differently inside a mind-world.

"A good couple hours," she replied. "Somewhere in the neighborhood of seven or so."

"Oh. That explains it."

She squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, I went through the same thing with Carl, the little minx." I gave a sigh of relief. So I wasn't going to die after all. Stupid me. "But you are having a hard labor, sorry about that. You're just so…slight of build."

I grinned. "Say it: I'm short."

"Ok, you're short."

"Allison," the midwife said sharply.

"Yes?" Allison turned her head towards her inquisitively.

"I need you to go and get water to wash the babes when they come. Which," she added, looking at me, "shouldn't be too long." I crushed Allison's hand as yet another of those darn contractions started up again.

"I think…you're right on that one," I gritted, trying not to cry out. Casting a worried glance at me, Allison rose and left the room.

Right when the babies decided that they finally wanted to be born.

I thought I was going to pass out from pushing so hard. Which the midwife was practically yelling at me to do. Fed up with the whole thing, I started yelling at her back.

"Push!"

"What do you think I'm doing? Sleeping!" I wished she would just shut up and disappear. But then again, I would be much worse off if she weren't here. I was very glad that I was not giving birth in Castle Dracula. I seriously doubted that any of them knew anything about human childbirth. It made me smile slightly just thinking of the chaos that would have undoubtedly erupted.

After what seemed like forever, I birthed the first of my four children.

The midwife looked at the bloodied child in her arms. He appeared a normal human child, until you noticed the glint of tiny fangs in his mouth, the immature bat-like wings protruding from his back, and the tiny claws where his fingers and toes should be.

She lay him aside in disgust and turned her attention back to the mother, who was in the middle of delivering her second child. It too was a boy, but did not carry the claws of his brother. Twin girls followed, one with wet, white feathery wings, one with black.

Laying the fourth and last baby aside, the midwife turned back to the mother, who had passed out from her exertions. It was just as well that the midwife had asked the other woman to leave; it would make her job easier. She had strict orders: any demonic traits and the child was not supposed to survive.

Quickly and efficiently, she strangled the eldest. About to do the same to the next, she was stopped by a soft groan from the bed. The children's mother had come to.

The midwife laid my children in my arms, one boy and two girls. So caught up in both mine and Dracula's feelings (happiness on my part, satisfaction on his) that I did not immediately notice the absence of my fourth child. I instinctively knew it had been a boy. I looked up at the midwife, who was watching me with an expressionless face.

"Where is my child?" I asked in a shaky voice. When she did not answer right away, I grew angry and demanded, "Where is my son!"


	34. Epilogue

Epilogue

AN: Well, the title pretty much says it all. Yes, this is the epilogue, the little conclusion of this story. I honestly had a lot of fun writing it, no matter what anyone thinks of it. shrug I like it anyway. Thanks to all of you who have ever reviewed and who have stayed with me through all my writer's block and procrastination. I really appreciate it. Thanks guys. tear Anywho, again, IDEAS FOR THE SEQUEL! HELP ME! OR ELSE THERE PROBABLY WON'T BE ONE 'CAUSE I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING! ACK! Okay, enough capital letters. Please send in ideas via reviews. Thanks again.

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The moon hung full in the sky like a shining jewel, bathing the Vatican in it's pearly light. Inside, all was quiet and all were deep asleep. Except for one figure who stirred deep in the bowels of the building.

She donned a heavy black cloak, carefully collected her precious burden and travel bag, and stole silently out of the room. Making her way cautiously through the darkened corridors, she stopped several times, frightened by false alarms.

The girl was tense. Much depended upon making a clean getaway. Finally, she was standing on the edge of the courtyard. Hugging the shadows, she made her way over to the stables and selected a black horse. Securing her bags on its sides, she double-checked the sling she wore about her chest and the three sleeping persons it contained.

She had to save them, no matter what the price. Obviously the Vatican was a safe haven no longer.

Mounting, she walked the horse back across the moonlit courtyard, wincing each time its iron-shod hooves struck the stones. But her worries were all for naught as she wound her way through the streets of Rome.

At the edge of the city, she stopped, looking at the countryside spread out before her. Satisfied that she had not been followed, she spurred her horse into a canter and fled.

Sparing a glance at her sleeping children, she whispered, "I shall never let Them or Him find you, I promise you."

And so she was going the one direction she knew no one would expect her to go, back to the one place they would be least likely to look.

She was going back east.


End file.
